| RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT AND FACILITIES
At Stevens, we are strengthening a proud tradition of conducting
high-quality research by developing ways to ensure that laboratory
breakthroughs and new technologies are translated into successful,
commercially-viable products and processes. We believe the future
lies in Technogenesis and the beneficial university-industry-government
collaboration.
Stevens research initiatives are interdisciplinary; they
have a strong connection to our undergraduate course offerings.
From the process of investigation and discovery through applications
in the marketplace, regardless of the particular discipline under
which they are created, our projects are interconnected; this prepares
our students for professional work. Our research initiatives reflect
the Stevens academic philosophy of a comprehensive and unified approach
to engineering, science, technology, and management.
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The Center for Decision Technologies
The Center for Decision Technologies (www.stevens.edu/decision) solves significant social problems by augmenting human cognition with sensors and robots. Current research focuses on the design of mixed networks of people, mobile robots, and sensors. One particular topic of current investigation is the way people move in relation to the changing wireless communication infrastructure surrounding them. The center has studied problems in the areas of emergency response, decision making, search and rescue, and robotic teleoperation, as well as the application of robotic technologies to business and education.
Center for Environmental
Systems (CES)
The Center for Environmental Systems is dedicated to basic and application-motivated
inter- and multi-disciplinary research aimed at creating basic scientific
knowledge, advanced technology, and innovative management practices
that lead to novel solutions for a sustainable utilization of our
environmental resources. The Center conducts research sponsored
by governmental agencies and private industry in a variety of environmental
research areas, promotes environmental technology development, transfer,
and implementation, and fosters partnerships with industry, government,
and environmental service organizations for cooperative approaches
to solving environmental problems. It also develops and maintains
degree, certificate, and continuing professional education programs
for the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Ocean Engineering.
Over 25 faculty members and 40 undergraduate and graduate students
are involved in environmental research projects. The research is
multifaceted, and includes hazardous and toxic waste engineering;
soil and ground-water modeling and remediation; dispersion and monitoring
studies of contaminants in inland and coastal waters; physical,
physicochemical, and biological waste treatment technologies; and
residential water conservation, flushability, and drinking water
safety.
The research facilities of the center include the James C. Nicoll,
Jr. Environmental Laboratory (JNEL), the Keck Geoenvironmental Laboratory,
the Vincent A. Rocco Technology Center, and the Analytical, Plasma,
and Water Conservation Laboratories. These state-of-the-art facilities
provide unique capabilities for bench scale treatability studies
on complex wastes, waste minimization studies, consumer and non-consumer
product environmental compatibility studies, fate and transport
evaluation of organic and inorganic contaminants, and the development
and transfer of environmental technologies.
Center for Global Technology
Management (CGTM)
The Center for Global Technology
Management (CGTM) is the Howe School's focal point for research
and educational programs in global studies. In research, the center
focuses on issues related to global innovation practices and theory.
The center's educational program includes a range of courses leading
to a "global concentration" in several Howe School graduate
programs. The center also plans a series of executive courses as
well as student exchange programs at the undergraduate and graduate
level with global corporations and international business schools.
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Center for Innovation
in Engineering and Science Education (CIESE)
The Center for Innovation in Engineering
and Science Education (CIESE), www.ciese.org,
part of the Schaefer School of Engineering, was founded in 1988
to lend Stevens' expertise in integrating computers into its curriculum
to improve K-12 science, mathematics, engineering, and technology
education. CIESE's mission is to increase the pool and improve the
capabilities of all students to pursue higher education and careers
in technological fields and to support the Stevens education by
catalyzing and fostering innovation in the teaching and learning
of engineering, science, and mathematics. CIESE’s outreach
efforts impact pre-college and university educators and students
in order to improve the quality of students and advance the practices
of engineering, applied science, and technology management.
In pursuing its mission, CIESE's work has encompassed
both precollege and post-secondary educators. The Center assists
K-12 educators to exploit the power of technology to improve teaching
and learning in engineering, science, mathematics, and other disciplines.
These activities complement Stevens objectives by helping students
acquire the foundations necessary to excel in science, mathematics,
and other subjects. Achievement in these "gateway" subjects
enables students to go on to the advanced study required in engineering
and other technologically-rich fields.
CIESE works collaboratively with teachers, school
system administrators, and university faculty to provide
intensive, hands-on training, support, and counsel to infuse technology
in meaningful ways into the curriculum. Technology is seen as both
a tool for teachers and a new mode for bringing exciting content
to students. In the past, students might have read in a textbook
about earthquakes that happened several years ago; today it is possible
for them to log onto a web site and see the location and intensity
of earthquakes that have occurred within the past 24 hours. Bringing
these real-world phenomena into the classroom both motivates and
engages students to learn in ways not possible with more traditional
tools. Through partnerships with school districts, as
well as colleges, universities, and other organizations in New Jersey
and four other states, CIESE has trained more than 20,000 teachers
and impacted more than a half-million students. CIESE’s Internet-based
curriculum materials have been recognized by organizations such
as the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, the
U.S. Department of Education, the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and
other organizations. More than 100,000 students participate in CIESE’s
real-time data and global telecollaborative projects each year.
CIESE is currently implementing a $1.5 million U.S. Department of
Education grant to transform teaching and learning in science and
mathematics education for preservice teachers through partnerships
with 33 community colleges. CIESE has also implemented large-scale
technology training programs, including a five-year, $9.28 million
U.S. Department of Education Technology Innovation Challenge Grant;
a three-year, $750,000 AT&T Foundation grant; a three-year,
$600,000 New Jersey Department of Education grant; a three-year,
$1 million program to strengthen science education for New Jersey's
neediest schools; as well as several specific teacher-training programs
with New Jersey and New York schools and districts.
Central to CIESE activities are unique and compelling
Internet-based curriculum materials for K-12 science and mathematics
education. The Savvy Cyber Teacher® (SCT) workshop series is
a 10-part, 30-hour teacher-training program providing educators
with hands-on experience using web-based applications in order to
engage students in authentic science investigations and problem-solving
activities using real-time data and global telecollaboration. SCT
materials and other training programs are available to schools and
teachers through grant-funded programs or fee-for-services arrangements
with CIESE.
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Center for Mass Spectrometry
Mass spectrometry, a rapidly advancing scientific discipline with
tremendous employment potential, has far-reaching qualitative and
quantitative applications in environmental, biological, biochemical,
pharmacological, forensic, and geochemical fields.
As one of the best equipped academic facilities in the United
States, the Center welcomes collaborative research projects from
the Stevens community and from outside sources. Frontier-level research
programs incorporate the efforts of those who would like to gain
experience with mass spectrometry, as well as advanced-level researchers
involved with the latest developments in the field. Our instruments
are amenable to a wide variety of organic compounds, including proteins,
peptides, amino acids, alkaloids, steroids, flavanoides, saccharides,
lipids, nucleic acids, polymers, petroleum products, and organo-metallics.
Our mass analyzers are based on time-of-flight and quadrupolar techniques.
One of the new instruments featured in this center is a Q-TOF API-US
mass spectrometer. This hybrid instrument incorporates two mass
analyzers in tandem: a high performance quadrupole filter as the
first stage and a orthogonal-acceleration time-of-flight analyzer
with a mass resolving power of 17,500 as the second.
Center for Product
Life-Cycle Management (CPLM)
Another research facility is the Center for Product Life-Cycle Management
(CPLM), a focal point for both information and technology on plastic
products over their life-cycle: design, manufacture, use, and disposal.
Working with industry and government, CPLM emphasizes the development
of products and fabrication processes that reduce the potential
for significant environmental problems and risk, and promote sustainable
growth. CPLM’s activities include contract product and process
research, engineering studies, educational and training programs,
and technology transfer industrial extension services. The center
uses three other facilities:
- The Blandford Water Quality Laboratory is
equipped for all standard chemical and microbiological determinations
used in the water and wastewater field. These include atomic absorption
spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography.
- The Waterfront Tower Facility, a ten-story,
3,000-square-foot tower, is used to conduct pilot-scale waste
treatment and destruction technology development and testing.
This unique facility can accommodate construction of very high
treatment setups. Several pilot-scale setups are in operation,
including a 40-foot-high steam-stripping parked column.
- The Research Vessel, Phoenix,
is used for conducting pollution studies in estuarine and coastal
waters. This 25-foot-long vessel has been equipped to perform
dye tracer experiments, collect water quality samples, and obtain
observations of water velocity, salinity, and temperature. The
Phoenix is named after an early 19th-century steamboat constructed
by the Stevens family.
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Center for Technology
Management Research (CTMR)
CTMR conducts research on issues related to innovation and the management
of technologies in a global context. Our mission is to develop concepts
and frameworks to help executives address the challenges of a rapidly
changing technology-based world. Research results are disseminated
through publications, books, working papers, an annual conference,
and sponsor forums. CTMR supports the Stevens Institute of Technology
theme of Technogenesis — the educational frontier wherein
faculty, students, and colleagues in industry jointly nurture the
process of conception, design, and marketplace realization of new
technologies.
Computer Vision Laboratory
The primary objective of the research performed in the Computer
Vision Laboratory is to apply rigorous physical and mathematical
principles towards image interpretation. The work performed in the
lab is multidisciplinary, combining diverse academic disciplines,
including physics, mathematics, engineering, and, above all, computer
science. Some of the major thrusts in the lab include photometry,
3-D shape reconstruction, shape analysis, object recognition, and
multispectral imaging.
The Laboratory offers students a hands-on experience with image
capturing and processing equipment. A dedicated workstation is used
mainly for the capture of still images and movies. The laboratory's
electronically tunable filter capable of fast, dense, multispectral
imaging is unique among computer vision laboratories in academic
institutions. The environmental conditions in the lab are strictly
controlled. If needed, the lab can become a dark room. An optic
table allows for the precise positioning of equipment. A collection
of optical components allows for experimentation with enhanced image
capture. The lab has its own server and multiple Unix workstations
for storing, processing, and analyzing images.
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The Consortium for Corporate
Entrepreneurship
The Consortium for Corporate Entrepreneurship (http://www.ceconsortium.org)
continues to focus its research in three areas: optimizing the front
end of innovation, approaches, and organizational structures for
getting to breakthroughs and knowledge creation and knowledge flow
in the front end.
Through its mission statement - to better understand the front
end of innovation in order to increase the number, speed, and success
probability of highly profitable products entering development -
the Consortium offers a collaborative environment, where academia
and industry are dedicated to the discovery portion of the front-end
leading to breakthrough innovation.
Although these are topics of growing interest within the corporate
creative community, little has previously been established. In a
world of rapidly evolving technologies, the success of interdependent
relationships spawned between creator-innovators and their corporate
environments is based on an increasingly synchronized set of events.
The Consortium and its industry sponsors seek to recognize behaviors
and activities that can be applied as powerful tools in enhancing
creativity, productivity, and profitability. Industry sponsors include:
ExxonMobil; Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson Franchise; and Aventis.
Davidson Laboratory
The Davidson Laboratory, founded in 1935, is one of the largest
and most renowned hydrodynamic and ocean engineering research facilities
in the nation. The Laboratory is part of The Center for Maritime
Systems which has as its focus: marine hydrodynamics, environment
modeling, observing systems and sensors, port security and commerce,
and acoustic detection and surveillance (http://www.stevens.edu/engineering/cms).
The Laboratory was featured in the February 1996 issue of Sea Technology.
Pioneering marine hydrodynamic studies in both physical modeling
and computer simulation of marine craft designs (ranging from high-speed
planning boats to submarines) conducted over 70 years have contributed
to the Laboratory’s international reputation. Contributions
to the field of ocean engineering include wave tank simulations
of various sea states and the analysis of forces on offshore structures.
The Laboratory’s interest and expertise extends to research
on observing systems and sensor design developing instruments to
measure specific water properties or processes and developing arrays
of sensors to monitor a region of the marine environment. The State
of New Jersey funds the Laboratory to administer the New Jersey
State Coastal Protection Technical Assistance Service (CPTAS), a unique resource created to both inform and counsel New Jersey
citizens and government officials regarding coastal protection technology.
Computational hydrodynamics at the Davidson Laboratory encompasses
both environmental hydrodynamics and naval architecture. The approaches
to these disciplines are designed to take advantage of the rapidly
evolving high performance computational and communications technologies.
The basis of the environment modeling systems is POM, the Princeton
Ocean Model. POM is a state-of-the-art, sigma coordinate, free surface,
primitive equation coastal ocean model. POM is the central modeling
component of the Laboratory’s New York Harbor Observing and
Prediction System (NYHOPS).
The primary research facilities within the Laboratory are two unique
wave tanks. The first is a high-speed towing tank with a length
of 313 feet, width of 12 feet, and a variable water depth of up to 6 feet.
A monorail-supported cable-driven carriage is capable of speeds
up to 100 ft/sec. The tank also contains a programmable wave maker
capable of generating monochromatic and random wave fields, as well
as several types of wave spectra. Shallow water conditions can be
simulated in the tank with the installation of an adjustable slope
false bottom. Nearshore beach conditions are studied by placing
40 tons of quartz sand on a 65-foot-long, 1-on-20 sloping false
bottom. The second tank is a rotating arm and oblique-sea basin,
with dimensions of 75-feet-long by 75-feet-wide and a variable water
depth of up to five feet. The facility has been designated an International
Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark and is one of only two
of its kind in the nation.
Estuarine and coastal field research is accomplished through the
use of the Laboratory’s two research vessels, equipped with
advanced global positioning systems, radar, and 1-ton deployment
winches. Research instrumentation includes topographic and bathymetric
surveying equipment, a CODAR high frequency radar system, Acoustic
Doppler Current Meters, PUV meters, laser-based Suspended Sediment
Particle-size Distribution Meters, and a Turner-design fluorometry
system. In addition to the mobile research instrumentation, the
Laboratory maintains a host of in-situ instrument platforms that
automatically monitor weather and water conditions along the New
Jersey Coast (http://cmn.dl.stevens-tech.edu)
and in New York/New Jersey Harbor as part of the New York Harbor
Observing System (http://onr.dl.stevens-tech.edu/webnyhos3/).
The research efforts of the Laboratory are supported by the Instrumentation
and Design Group that designs and manufactures the specialized equipment
needed to support research activities. Computational resources center
around the Laboratory’s cluster: 6 dual 2.8GHz Xeon processors,
scheduled to be expanded to 12 nodes over the next 6 months. Each
processor has 140GB and 10,000 RPM RAID drives. A wide range of
processing tools, including visualization and animation routines,
is available for use.
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Design & Manufacturing
Institute (DMI)
The Design & Manufacturing Institute (DMI) (http://www.dmi.stevens-tech.edu/index.php)
is an interdisciplinary center integrating materials processing,
product design, and manufacturing expertise with simulation and modeling
utilizing state-of-the-art computer software technology. Located
in the historic Carnegie Laboratory, DMI bridges the gap between
academic- and application-oriented research and development. DMI
partners with industry and government to create practical solutions
to product-design challenges that address cost, performance, and
productibility across the product life cycle. DMI’s expertise
spans processing studies and modeling, competitive product development,
multi-component, multi-process system design and optimization, life-cycle analysis, material characterization and testing, and rapid
prototyping and manufacturing.
Building on more than a decade of experience in cutting-edge product
design solutions, the Design & Manufacturing Institute continues
to lead in developing "next generation" solutions to today’s
challenges of product development. DMI’s expertise in manufacturing
processes and knowledge-based software is epitomized in its Automated
Concurrent Engineering Software (ACES) system and methodology development.
The ACES system offers product designers performance and process
modeling and life-cycle optimization for multi-component, multi-process
systems. In its continuous refinement of "next generation"
product development methodologies and tools, such as ACES, DMI is
engineering the future of polymer and metals-based products.
DMI has particular expertise with polymers and composites, and
maintains extensive modeling capabilities and databases on materials,
processing, tooling, and machinery. The Learning Factory at DMI,
a 6,000-square-foot facility, provides a computer-controlled, state-of-the-art
manufacturing environment. It offers industry representatives and
students the research, testing, and training for product design and
testing, materials characterization, rapid prototyping, and production.
Part of DMI is the Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory, which contains
industrial scale NC machines with CAD/CAM software.
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Electrical and Computer
Engineering Laboratories
Laboratory facilities in the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering are used for course-related teaching and special problems,
design projects, and research. Students are exposed to a range of
practical problems in laboratory assignments. Research laboratories
are also heavily involved in both undergraduate and graduate education
with special projects and dissertation projects. All research laboratories
serve this dual-use function.
- Image Processing & Multimedia Laboratory
The high computing power and large data storage capabilities of
contemporary computer systems, along with the high data rates
of today's data networks, have made practical many sophisticated
techniques used for two- and three-dimensional images and video.
The Image Processing & Multimedia Laboratory highlights advances
in the underlying image processing and computer vision algorithms
that serve as foundations for a wide range of applications. Related
to these visual environments is the general area of multimedia,
combining visual, audio, and other sensory information within an
integrated framework.
- Physical Electronics Laboratory
Miniaturized devices used in today’s electronic and optoelectronic
components (and their packaging) dominate the underlying physical
components of contemporary systems. The Physical Electronics Laboratory
provides an interdisciplinary facility highlighting design/realization
of miniaturized components, test/evaluation of such components,
and the demonstration of advanced systems concepts.
- Secure Network Design Laboratory
Today’s extensive use of electronic
information systems (including data networks, data storage systems,
digital computers, etc.) has revolutionized both commercial and
personal access to information and exchange of information. However,
serious issues appear in the security of information, assurance
of the end user’s identity, protection of the information
system, etc. The Secure Network Design Laboratory provides both
physical testbeds and computer systems/resources for exploration
of this broad issue.
- Signal Processing in Communications Laboratory
Communication systems rely on extensive signal processing, in
preparation for their transmission, to correct for distortions
of the signal during transmission and to extract the original
signal from the received signal. Digital signal processing is
an important enabler of contemporary communication systems, providing
the flexibility and reliability of computational algorithms to
enable a wide variety of operations on signals. The Signal Processing
in Communications Laboratory focuses on advances in the underlying
principles of signal processing and on the application of signal
processing to contemporary communication systems.
- Wireless Information Systems Engineering Laboratory
The Wireless Information Systems Engineering Laboratory highlights
the design and engineering of advanced wireless systems, including
cellular and PCS telephony, wireless LANs, satellite communications,
and application-specific wireless links. Research includes the
application of advanced signal processing algorithms and technologies
to wireless communication systems. A major motivation of wireless
communications is the elimination of a physical wire connected
to the user’s system. In the case of computer communications
(e.g., LAN and modem capabilities), the transition to wireless
connections allows the realization of true "any place"
connectivity to data communications services.
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Engineered Materials
Laboratory
The Engineered Materials Laboratory focuses on the design and manufacturing
aspects of high-performance composite materials. Current project
thrusts include development and validation of a multi-physics composite
manufacturing simulation system, studies on process-induced residual
stresses, and composites behavior in thermally-aggressive environments.
The laboratory features a two-axis filament winder, an instrumented
resin transfer mold, and a robotic lamination system.
Highly Filled Materials
Institute (HFMI)
The Highly Filled Materials Institute (HFMI) (http://web.hfmi.stevens-tech.edu)
was established at Stevens Institute of Technology in 1989 to investigate,
both experimentally and theoretically, the rheological behavior,
microstructure, processability, and ultimate properties of highly
filled materials, including suspensions and dispersions.
Highly filled materials, loading levels of which are typically
very close to their maximum packing fraction of the solid phase,
are encountered in various industries, including solid rocket fuels
and explosives, personal care products, intermediary and final food
products, batteries, polymeric master-batches and compounds, construction
products, composites, magnetics, and ceramics. HFMI stays in contact
with these industries in order to better define its research goals
and to help focus efforts on some of the immediate and long-term
concerns. An industrial advisory board guides HFMI in carrying out
short- and long-term contract research for government agencies and
corporations.
The facilities of HFMI are furnished with state-of-the-art equipment,
including a mini-supercomputer and graphic workstations for numerical
simulation, industrial-size continuous and batch processors including
co-rotating and counter-rotating twin screw extruders, shear and
extensional rheometers, computerized data acquisition and process
control systems, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric
analysis, and equipment for characterization of microstructural distributions,
magnetic and electrical properties, wettability, and image analysis.
The proprietary technologies of HFMI include magnetic shielding
methods, on-line rheometry, disposal methods for chemical munitions,
X-ray based quantitative degree of mixedness and particle-size distribution
analysis techniques, and three-dimensional FEM-based source codes
for simulation of EMF mitigation, extrusion, molding, and die flows.
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Information Technology
Information Technology (http://www.stevens.edu/it/home/)
supports academic and administrative computing systems, instructional
technology, campus networking and telecommunication facilities,
web servers, and many computing and networking resources located
throughout the campus. Infrastructure server services are based
on multi-vendor UNIX platforms and Microsoft Windows.
An extensive network supports communications from all academic
and administrative buildings and residence halls to all systems.
Over 6,500 nodes are supported on the campus network with access
speeds of up to 100Mbbps and core network speeds of 1GBps. Off-campus
connectivity to the Internet and Internet2 is provided by a high-speed 100MBps (OC3) circuit. A wireless network provides access
to the campus network and the Internet from locations around the
campus. Remote access to the campus network is supported by a dial-in
modem pool, as well as VPNs. With a high level of connectivity and
advanced functionality accessible from on- and off-campus locations,
our network has been recognized as an award-winning model environment
for other academic institutions and commercial organizations.
In addition to the notebook computers provided to all undergraduate
students, a PC laboratory operated by Information Technology is
available to support access for members of the campus community
seven days a week, except holidays. It includes a large cluster of personal
computers, printers, a scanner, and wired and wireless access to
the campus network. Additional computer labs are maintained by some
academic departments to meet their needs.
Information Technology provides a variety of services. The User
Services staff assists users by providing a staffed help desk, training
seminars and workshops, documentation, timely news updates, and
advice on systems access and usage. The staff coordinates a seminar
series intended to aid in the use of networked resources. Users
may request individual or departmental assistance in planning, implementing,
and using information resources, as well as help with general system
information, connecting to and interacting with the network, using
workstations, and accessing the Internet resources.
Information Technology assists members of the community in evaluating,
acquiring, and supporting networked resources. This includes help
in planning new facilities, implementing new technologies, and establishing
support programs. The Networking Staff assists users and departments
in designing and implementing local area networks, network expansion
plans, and network applications. User assistance can be obtained
by calling (201) 216-5500. Help in purchasing computers can be obtained
by calling (201) 216-5108.
The staff of Information Technology has a long-standing tradition
of close cooperation with students. Undergraduate and graduate students
are employed as part-time user (help desk) consultants, residence
hall technical assistants, personal computer lab assistants, and
network support technicians. All of these students work closely
with the Information Technology staff, gaining valuable practical
experience while pursuing their degrees.
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W. M. Keck Geoenvironmental
Laboratory
The W. M. Keck Geoenvironmental Engineering Laboratory is a fully-equipped
facility for state-of-the-art computer automated geotechnical, as
well as environmental, testing of soil and water media. Some of
the major equipment available includes: optical and polarizing microscope
capabilities for geological sample analysis; X-ray diffraction capabilities
for mineralogical characterizations; scanning electron microscope
for surface morphological studies; zeta potentiometer for solid
surface charge analyses; integrated wet chemistry facilities to
accommodate any type of physicochemical and environmental soil testing,
such as particle and pore size distribution, surface area, cation
exchange capacity, batch and sequential extraction, oxide content,
consolidation, triaxial and direct shear strength testing, flexible
and rigid wall permeameters, and CBRs; durability chambers for simulating
environmental stresses, such as freeze and thaw, wetting and drying,
salt fog, and acid rain exposure, as well as other accelerated weathering
field conditions; and full sample collection and specimen preparation
set-ups.
Some of the current studies involve geoenvironmental characterization
of heavy metal contaminated firing range soils from different installations
across the US; fly ash, incinerator ash, and other industrial waste-by-product
materials to evaluate their use in construction applications; evaluating
the properties of dredged materials for reuse in transportation
projects, treatment, and management of hazardous wastes; focusing
on heavy metal and petroleum hydrocarbon immobilization in geoenvironments;
study of the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface;
surface enhancement of currently used industrial wastewater filtration
media; and development of leaching protocols. To view brief project
descriptions, journal, engineering reports, and other pertinent publications,
visit (http://www.cee.stevens-tech.edu/facilities/keck/).
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Laboratory for Secure
Systems
The Laboratory's mission is to pioneer new technologies for high-assurance
and secure systems and prototype tools that can provide guarantees
that a system will not exhibit unpredictable behavior in a hostile
environment. The objective is to consolidate and organize research
and tool-building efforts already underway at Stevens. The Lab is
funded by grants from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology,
the National Science Foundation, and the Stevens Institute of Technology
Technogenesis Fund. The facilities of the Lab include several desktop
machines, PDAs with wireless Ethernet, and Bluetooth devices for
experimentation. The Lab is affiliated with the New Jersey Institute
for Trustworthy Enterprise Software.
Part of the research work is focused on building better trust
models for components. Some of this work is using static analysis
techniques to check access control and information flow properties
for untrusted components. There is also work on pushing type safety
from high-level languages down to the assembly language level and,
in the process, checking properties of heap space usage. Other work
has been on type systems for dynamic linking and "hot"
updates of program libraries at run-time.
Another thrust of the work in the Lab has been in network security,
particularly for wireless networks. Work continues on attacks that
can be mounted on ad hoc wireless networks and in the design of
new authentication and key establishment protocols that can be used
to improve the security of wireless communication in general. Recent
work has also looked at type-based approaches to cryptography, to
specify and ensure trustworthiness guarantees for communication
channels.
A new area of research at the Lab is the study of secure electronic
transactions, such as banking operations or voting. The work consists
of using secure patterns of communication described using type-systems
to detect unauthorized modification of data between trusted communicating
parties.
The Lab has a seminar series where guests from industry and academia,
as well as members of the Stevens community, present recent advances
in all areas of computer security.
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Lawrence Schacht Management
Laboratory
Today, educating engineers, scientists, and managers requires more
than traditional laboratory facilities. The Lawrence Schacht Management
Laboratory provides facilities to learn and practice business skills
in realistic environments: to learn the art and science of making
effective presentations, to understand and improve interpersonal
and organizational skills, to develop the computational skills needed
in today’s competitive world, and to conduct research in management
and technology management.
The laboratory is composed of a seminar room and five conference
rooms, a computation laboratory, and a networking and video control
center. Video cameras and screens in each of the conference rooms
can be operated and controlled remotely from the control center.
Network and video connections are installed throughout the laboratory,
enabling laboratory activities to combine the use of audio, video,
and computing techniques.
These facilities are well-suited for use in many academic programs.
For example, students practice presentation skills in the seminar
room, and undergraduate and graduate students simulate a variety
of managerial situations in the conference rooms as they learn the
dynamics of small groups. Exercises can be monitored and videotaped
by an experienced manager who may both intervene in the process
and guide it, or offer criticism and feedback immediately after
its conclusion.
In addition to providing students with valuable educational experiences,
the laboratory is used in management and other small-group research.
The laboratory is designed to accommodate controlled experimentation
on managerial functions and processes. Our ultimate goal in management
research is to understand the managing mechanism as it relates to
individuals involved, their organization, and the community at large.
The computing center portion of the laboratory includes thirty
advanced personal computers, all connected to the campus-wide network.
The equipment supplements the training of management students by
allowing them access to, and training them in the use of, fully-supported
analytical tools in accounting, statistics, and simulations. From
the Schacht Lab computers, students can access and use the worldwide
capabilities available through the Internet on their projects and
assignments.
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Materials/Structures
Laboratory
The Materials/Structures Laboratory is equipped for state-of-the-art
materials testing. Equipment includes a universal 400,000 lb. compression/200,000
lb. tension testing machine; a computerized data acquisition system;
beam loading frame; freeze-thaw testing apparatus; Versa test compression
machine; high-pressure flexible wall permeameters; and environmental
testing chambers. Current studies include high-strength concrete,
fiber-reinforced concrete, use of by-products in concrete production,
and durability of materials in construction.
Mechanical Engineering Labs
- Alfred W. Fielding Computer-Aided Design Laboratory
This laboratory contains a number of high-speed workstations and
peripherals serviced via local area networks. The installed software
includes the general purpose CAD/CAM package Pro-Engineer and
Solid Works, as well as finite element codes ABAQUS, ALGOR, ANSYS,
and Pro-Mechanica. Also installed are several special purpose
design, analysis, and educational packages.
- Clean Air Vehicle Facility
The Clean Air Vehicle Facility focuses on methods to reduce automotive
pollutant emissions. The laboratory houses a 50-hp single-axle
chassis dynamometer and a 1000-hp engine dynamometer with fully-computerized
instrumentation. The emission sampling and analysis systems permit
accurate determination of CO, CO2, Ox, NOx, total hydrocarbons,
methane, and non-methane hydrocarbons in raw or constant-volume
sampled exhaust.
- Engineered Structural Materials Laboratory
This laboratory focuses on the design, modeling, and analysis and
characterization of modern micro/nano-structurally engineered
materials. The laboratory has filament winding, resin transfer
molding, and robotic lamination equipment for prototyping tailored
composite materials. The laboratory is capable of characterizing
physical and mechanical properties, long-term durability, and failure
behavior of composite structures.
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- Fluid Mechanics Laboratory
This laboratory includes a low-noise subsonic wind tunnel with
several custom-fabricated test sections, a pump performance test-rig,
a blower and internal-flow test-rig, a hydraulic bench and experimental
set-ups for flow metering, force of a jet, and dimensional-analysis/similitude.
The laboratory is fully networked and includes space to support
undergraduate and graduate design and research projects in aerodynamics
and hydraulics with modern flow instrumentation and computer-aided
data acquisition systems.
- Kenneth A. Roe Senior Design Laboratory
This facility provides work space and support (instrumentation,
tools, etc.) for the design, construction, and testing of capstone-design
projects in Mechanical Engineering. The laboratory serves as a
base for all the senior design teams. It has workbenches for at
least ten design teams to build and assemble prototypes.
- Mechanical Systems Laboratory
This laboratory houses 10 experimental set-ups in mechanisms,
machine systems, and robotics, including apparati for experiments
on vibrations of machine systems (natural response, step response,
frequency response, resonance, etc.), gear mechanisms (train value,
rigid vs. flexible machine, etc.), and balancing of rotors, as well
as the experiments with various displacement sensors to measure
beam deflection and calculate beam stiffness; to measure backlash
existed in mechanical joints and motion system; and to measure motion
errors in mechanical systems of various components. Several educational
robot manipulators and Lego-based mobile platforms are included.
- Metal Forming Laboratory (MFL)
This Laboratory focuses on advancing the state-of-the-art in computer
modeling of thermo-mechanical processing of metals. The results
of the computer simulations are verified using experimental techniques.
The manufacturing processes investigated include forging, rolling,
extrusion, and stamping. Recent projects explored the microstructure
changes in metals during the hot forging of aerospace components,
whereby the resulting grain size is predicted as a function of
the processing parameters using heuristic models and numerical
approaches on multiple length scales.
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- Noise and Vibration Control Laboratory
Research activities in the areas of engineering acoustics, vibrations,
and noise control are conducted in this Laboratory. The Laboratory
has an anechoic chamber with internal dimensions of 4.52m x 5.44m
x 2.45m. In addition, the Laboratory houses sophisticated
instrumentation, such as multi-channel signal analyzer and sound
and vibration transducers, transducers with adapters for mounting
to a robot end effecto,r and a number of grippers designed and
constructed by students.
- Precision Engineering Laboratory
The facility focuses on advancing the state-of-the-art in the
areas of precision machine design, precision robot design, and
precision manufacturing. Nano-precision sensors and actuators,
as well as precision coordinate measuring machines, provide powerful
tools for research, development, and education. Current experimental
studies include the development of an innovative diamond wheel
sharpening process at high-speed; a six degree-of-freedom robotic
measuring system; precision industrial robot design and performance
evaluation techniques; service robots; and ultra-precision fine-position
systems for industrial robots.
- Robotics and Control Laboratory (RCL)
The Robotics and Control Laboratory (RCL) provides experimental
research support in advanced intelligent control of robotic systems
with emphasis on non-linear systems adaptive control, intelligent
control, neural networks, and optimization-based design and control.
Projects include investigations on man-machine systems, telerobotics,
haptics, robotic deburring, and robust and adaptive motion, force,
and vision-based control. The major facilities consist of one
PA-10 robot, a Phantom haptic device with GHOST development software,
two PUMA 500s, and several robotic arms. The PA-10 is equipped
with a JR3 wrist and an ATI base force sensor and a Sony eye-in-hand
camera system.
- Thermal Engineering Laboratory
The principal equipment in this Laboratory includes: a single
cylinder CFR engine with dynamometer and data acquisition systems,
a fully-instrumented oil-fired hot water furnace, and a heat pump
experiment and reciprocating air compressor setup. Modern emissions
testing equipment and computer-aided data acquisition systems
are available for student use.
- Thermodynamics Laboratory
This laboratory includes a CFR engine set-up equipped with a custom-made power controller and a fully computerized data-acquisition
system, a two-stage, 10-hp, air compressor with inter-cooling
instrumented with a computer-assisted data acquisition system,
a hot water furnace experimental set-up, and an educational version
of a vapor-compression refrigeration/heat pump cycle. Modern emissions
testing equipment and computer-aided data acquisition systems
are available for use.
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New Jersey Center
for MicroChemical Systems (NJCMCS)
The New Jersey Center for MicroChemical Systems was recently established
under the auspices of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology
and with grants from several major federal government agencies, such
as the U.S. Department of Energy and the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA). NJCMCS exemplifies the Stevens approach
to doctoral education - students, faculty, and industrial partners
work closely together, sharing ideas and nurturing technology from
innovation to implementation.
NJCMCS uses a systems approach to design, manipulate, and control
chemical reaction and separation processes that occur in micro-volume
environments. This research area includes a broad range of new technologies,
such as microfluidic biochips for drug discovery, combinatorial
catalyst evaluation, micro-reactor systems for on-demand production
of industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and micro-power systems.
The Center's vision is to become a global leader in developing innovative
micro-kinetic test and design methodologies for rapid microchemical
systems development, demonstration, and commercialization. In partnership
with industry and government, the Center develops microchemical
systems that can be used in miniature power devices, in on-demand
chemical production facilities, and in biomedical devices.
New Jersey Center
for Software Engineering (NJCSE)
Members of the Computer Science Department hold a large grant from
the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology (NJCS&T),
focused on research in software engineering aspects of networks
and distributed programming. This grant is held jointly with New
Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and Rutgers University, New
Brunswick.
The New Jersey Center for Software Engineering (NJCSE) was founded
in mid-2000 as the corporate outreach (technology transfer) arm
of this research activity. NJCSE is based at Stevens.
Academic institutions affiliated with NJCSE are Stevens Institute
of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers University
in New Brunswick, and Monmouth University.
NJCSE activities include regular technical meetings with Stevens,
Rutgers, and NJIT researchers, and industry representatives. Other
activities include a Student Project Showcase and a Career Opportunities
Program. As of January 1, 2001, Industry Affiliates included Avaya,
Telcordia, Rational, and IBM. NJCSE offers companies state-of-the-art
technical programs and early access to some of the best CS graduates
in New Jersey.
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New Jersey Institute
for Trustworthy Enterprise Software
The New Jersey Institute for Trustworthy Enterprise Software was
established by a grant from the New Jersey Commission on Science
and Technology. The focus of the Institute is on improving the trustworthiness,
reliability, and security of enterprise software, particularly for
distributed and Internet applications. The Institute comprises partners
at Stevens, Rutgers University, and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
It is based at Stevens and is involved in the following research:
secure electronic business, reliable Internet programming, safe
components and componential programming, document processing, software
design processes, and web engineering. The Institute is affiliated
with the Laboratory for Secure Systems and the Software Engineering
Laboratory, and has sponsored several research symposia in Trustworthy
Software and CyberSecurity, held at Stevens.
New Jersey Marine
Sciences Consortium
Stevens is a member of the consortium which was established to provide
resources for the conduct of marine science and engineering research
in New Jersey coastal waters. The consortium maintains three research
vessels, ranging from 25 to 60 feet in length, together with an
extensive suite of oceanographic instrumentation, which is available
for use by Stevens faculty and students. In addition, the consortium
operates field stations at Sandy Hook and Seaville, NJ. Finally,
the consortium serves as a focal point for bringing together diverse
specialists to attack substantial interdisciplinary problems in
the marine environment. Our faculty and students have participated
in several large studies undertaken by the consortium.
Optical Communications
Laboratory
Research is conducted in this Laboratory on optical communication
systems and components with computer-assisted electronic and optical
instrumentation. The properties of single-mode optical fibers, Er-doped
optical fiber amplifiers, wideband optical transmitters and receivers,
external cavity tunable semiconductor lasers, single-frequency laser
diodes, and fiber optic sensors are studied and tested using fast-pulsed
lasers, signal synthesizers, spectrum analyzers, spectrometers, and
a wide variety of optical instruments. The effects of cabling and
temperature on the propagation of optical signals are investigated.
Ultra-high frequency fiber optic communication systems are being
designed and tested for use in telecommunications and video leaks.
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Physics and Engineering
Physics Research Laboratories
The Physics and Engineering Physics facilities include the following:
- Laboratory for the Study of Electron-Driven Processes
- Prof. K. H. Becker
Electron collisions with atoms, molecules, and free radicals; experimental
and theoretical studies of excitation, dissociation, and ionization
processes; measurement of electron attachment and detachment cross
sections and rates; collision induced emission spectroscopy; laser-induced
fluorescence experiments; collision processes in low-temperature
plasmas; atomic processes in atmospheric pressure plasmas; application
of collisional and spectroscopic data to plasma diagnostic techniques;
atomic, molecular and plasma processes in environmental systems;
internal collaborations with the Center for Environmental Systems
(CES) and the John Vossen Laboratory for Thin Film and Vacuum
Technology; and external collaborations with the Universität
Greifswald and the Institut für Niedertemperaturplasmaphysik
(Institute for Low-Temperature Plasma Physics), Greifswald, Germany
and the Universität Innsbruck, Austria.
- John Vossen Laboratory for Thin Film and Vacuum Technology
- Prof. A. Belkind
Basic and applied research in the field of plasma generation at
low and atmospheric pressure, plasma diagnostics and plasma implementation
with particular emphasis on plasma-assisted deposition, and surface
cleaning and environmental processes; special efforts are being
devoted to the development of novel pulsed power plasma sources.
Collaborations exist with industry (power supply and vacuum deposition
system manufacturers) and, internally, with the Laboratory for
the Study of Electron-Driven Processes and the Center for Environmental
Systems.
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- Solid State Electronics and Nanodevices - Prof. H.
L. Cui
Theoretical research on quantum electron transport, resonant tunneling
devices, and optical devices; modeling and simulation of semiconductor
devices and acoustic wave devices and networks; and large-scale, massively-parallel
simulations of MM-wave spectroscopes and fiber-optical communication
devices.
- Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy and Communication Lab -
Prof. R. Martini
The realization of ultrahigh-speed communication networks
at and above Terahertz (THz) bandwidth is one of today's most challenging
problems, as the limiting factors are given by fundamental physical
properties and laws. To overcome the restrictions, new concepts
and materials have to be invented and utilized. In this laboratory,
we investigate the high-speed response of new lasers and materials,
as well as passive and active optical systems using ultrashort
laser pulses (<100fs) to develop towards higher speed networks.
In addition to this, the ultrashort laser techniques in this laboratory
enable us to apply many different measurement techniques, accessing
the world of the "ultrafast." Time-resolved Terahertz
(THz) spectroscopy setup, for example, gives us the unique ability
to measure optical, as well as electrical, properties in this ultrahigh-speed
frequency region and use it for new and fascinating applications
in this new "frequency world."
- Quantum Electron Physics and Technology - Prof. N. J.
M. Horing
Quantum field theory of many-body systems; nonequilibrium and
thermal Green's function methods in solid state and semiconductor
physics and response properties; open quantum systems; nonequilibrium
fluctuations; surface interactions; quantum plasma; high magnetic
field phenomena; low dimensional systems; dynamic, nonlocal dielectric
properties, and collective modes in quantum wells, wires, dots,
and superlattices; nanostructure electrodynamics and optical properties;
nonlinear quantum transport theory; magnetotransport, miniband
transport, hot electrons, and hot phonons in submicron devices;
mesoscopic systems; spintronics; relaxation and decoherence in
semiconductor nanostructures; nanoelectrical mechanical systems
(NEMS); and device analysis for quantum computations.
- Theoretical Quantum and Matter Wave Optics - Prof. C.
P. Search
Theoretical investigations into the dynamical properties
of atomic and molecular Bose-Einstein condensates and quantum
degenerate Fermi gases. Particular areas of interest include nonlinear
wave-mixing of matter waves, quantum statistics and coherence
properties of bosonic and fermionic matter waves, atomic recoil
effects in the interaction between light and ultracold atoms,
atom-molecule conversion via Feshbach resonances, and photoassociation
and phase sensitivity in atom interferometers. Applications include
precision interferometers for inertial navigation, gravity gradiometers
for geophysical prospecting, and matter wave lithography. Other
areas of interest include open quantum systems, control of environmental
decoherence, and cavity quantum electrodynamics.
- Light and Life Laboratory - Prof. K. Stamnes
Atmospheric/Space Research, including satellite remote sensing
of the environment. Measurements of broadband and spectral radiation,
including solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Inference of cloud
and stratospheric ozone effects on UV exposure. Numerical modeling
of geophysical phenomena and comparison with measurements. Study
of radiation transport in turbid media, such as the atmosphere-ocean
system and biological tissue.
- Photonics Science and Technology Lab - Prof. E. A. Whittaker
The theme of this laboratory is the development and application
of laser-based methods for remote sensing, chemical analysis, and
optical communications. Techniques used include frequency modulation
spectroscopy, laser vibrometr,y and free space optical communications.
The laboratory is equipped with a wide range of laser sources
and detectors, high frequency electronic test equipment, computer-controlled measurement systems, and a Fourier transform infrared
spectrometer.
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Samuel C. Williams Library
Service Philosophy
The S. C. Williams Library offers just-in-time service tailored to
the needs of Stevens faculty, students, and staff. This model maximizes
use of Library materials and serves individual information needs.
Using networked computers, students, faculty, and staff can access
bibliographic and full-text databases to locate references to millions
of books, articles, patents, theses, conference proceedings, technical
reports, and statistics. The databases are available 24 hours a day.
Information Services
Information Specialists are available to members of the Stevens
community to do the following:
- assist in library research,
- visit departments for one-on-one or group
instruction,
- teach students the effective use of
library resources, and
- provide customized database searching by appointment.
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Document Delivery Services
Through the Library’s just-in-time service model, the Stevens
community benefits from 24-hour on-campus and remote web-based access
to subscription databases in diverse subject areas, including science
and engineering, management and business, and the humanities. The
Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery department, conveniently
located on the main floor of the Library, supports research needs
by determining the most prompt method of retrieving documents and
materials requested by faculty, students, and staff.
Also, located directly across the Hudson River from Stevens is
New York City, where important publishers, bookstores, and major
research libraries provide additional resources.
Cultural Services
The Library functions as a cultural campus center, offering a wealth
of artworks, mechanical models, special collections, and musical
recitals. The Library’s art collection includes two works
by Alexander Calder, a 1919 Stevens graduate: the "Stevens
Mobile," created and presented by Calder, who developed this
art form, is exhibited in the three-story Great Hall; a jagged black
metal stabile, "Hard to Swallow," stands on the second
floor.
"Safari," a mural by Pierre Bourdelle, an internationally-renowned craftsman and teacher, is exhibited above the Information
Services area. His cast aluminum "American Spread Wing Eagle"
adorns a south-facing exterior wall. A stunning three-part gilded
bronze work designed by American sculptor Mary Callery, called
"Moon and Stars," hangs over the entrance portico. On
the great lawn is Anna Hyatt Huntington’s magnificent sculpture,
"The Torch Bearer."
Special Collections
A collection pertaining to Leonardo da Vinci is one of the finest
accumulations of manuscripts, notebooks, and drawings in facsimile
available for the use of scholars, media professionals, and humanities
students.
The Library also houses manuscripts, drawings, artifacts, and monographs
by and about Frederick Winslow Taylor, Class of 1883, who originated
Scientific Management. Furniture from Taylor’s home is also
included in the collection. Additional holdings of the Library include
the Stevens archives, the original construction drawings for the
Civil War ironclad U.S.S. Monitor, and treasures from the Stevens
family 1854 "Castle." The four-story Library building,
a showplace in library architecture, was designed by Perkins &
Will. It is dedicated in memory of Samuel C. Williams, Class of
1915.
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Software Engineering
Laboratory
The Laboratory for Quantitative Software Engineering, supported
by a grant from the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology
and by affiliates of the New Jersey Center for Software Engineering,
has several Windows and Linux workstations connected by ethernet
and wireless LANs. The Lab is affiliated with the New Jersey Institute
for Trustworthy Enterprise Software.
The Lab's use is two-fold:
First, it is used by students in the required two-semester Senior
Design sequence. Their projects are more profitably implemented
on networked workstations than on personal laptops, with which all
Stevens students are equipped. A special feature of the Senior Design
course is that it uses a novel pedagogic methodology entitled "Live-Thru
Case Histories." Further development of, and the study of,
the efficacy of the Live-Thru Case History Method, are being
studied under grants from the New Jersey Commission on Science and
Technology and the National Science Foundation, in part with the
aid of custom software being developed in the Lab.
Second, as affiliates of both Prof. Barry Boehm's University of
Southern California Center for Software Engineering and of the DOD-sponsored
CEBASE (Center for Experimentally-based Software Engineering), led
by Prof. Boehm and Prof. Victor Basili of the University of Maryland,
the Software Engineering Lab's faculty are using the lab for experimentation
in software engineering technologies and methodologies. Subjects
of these studies include high-reliability software, methods for
avoiding the need to perform full-scale defect detection and elimination,
and modern agile software development practices pair programming,
refactoring, etc. Specific studies of software reliability theory
in concert with the Stevens computer engineering program are conducted
with the goal of constraining the execution of software products
from executing inherent faults so that they do not become failures.
Howe School Alliance for
Technology Management
The Howe School Alliance for Technology Management is a collaboration between business, government, and academia which helps its partner organizations to better manage technology for strategic advantage. It has been transferring best practices through seminars, conferences, roundtable meetings, and publications since 1991. Partners have the opportunity to exchange ideas in a collegial environment with faculty of the Howe School of Technology Management and with a network of people in other organizations dealing with similar issues.
The Alliance deals with a very diverse group of issues under the broad umbrella of technology management. Topics that have been addressed include innovation as an ongoing strategy, business process redesign, achieving radical breakthroughs, intellectual property management, processes for product conception, project selection, metrics for measuring research and development effectiveness, research and development portfolio management, knowledge management, managing innovation, project management, new product team performance, and outsourcing of technology development.
Current Alliance Partners are AT&T, Infineum, ISO, Lucent Technologies, Teknor Apex, the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Center, and the U.S. Navy Strategic Systems Program. Through its educational programs, its research, and its effective transfer of management practices, the Howe School Alliance has helped numerous organizations and has contributed to the professional development of thousands of technology professionals and executives over a 15-year period.
Visualization
Laboratory (VLab)
Research in the VLab falls under the general areas of visualization,
computer graphics, and computer vision with applications in medical
imaging and diagnostics, cell biology, scientific computing, robotics,
and computational finance. Current research projects include the
development of new geometric methods and efficient computational
algorithms for representation, recognition, and visualization of
surface shapes and shape deformations, and for pre-compression data
reduction in visual data communications. The VLab is part of the mV2 (multimedia vision and visualization)
group, and has close ties with the Vision Lab at Stevens.
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