Military
and Homeland Defense
Detection of Bacteria, Spores
and Viruses
Applications: Homeland defense and medical
Project Description: Develop real-time,
in situ methods to detect the presence of bacteria, spores
and viruses using optical spectroscopy. This research is focused
on determining the optical signatures of bacteria, spores
and viruses, which will form the basis of a real-time, in
situ method to detect bio-agents.
Benefits: Easier, faster and more accurate
methods to determine the presence of bioagents
Infrared Terahertz Probing
and Imaging Techniques
Applications: Homeland defense and industrial
Project Description: Investigate terahertz
(Thz) beam generation and detection in order to develop a
time-domain Thz-spectroscopy technique for studying the far-infrared
transmission and dielectric properties of organic and inorganic
composite and biological organisms. Potential uses include
detection of hidden objects for security and counter terrorism
and detection and imaging of corrosion and/or cracks on metallic
and ceramic surfaces beneath paint for industrial applications.
Benefits: Easier, more accurate imaging
and probing technology than currently available
Network Architecture for Wireless
Sensors
Applications: Military communications and
sensors
Project Description: Develop self-organizing
sensor network infrastructures to gather and disseminate real-time
information for controlling dynamic enterprise systems, such
as battlefields, where very large numbers of highly mobile
sensor data sources and users may be scattered over a wide
area with little or no fixed network support. These large
surveillance sensor networks must adapt rapidly to dynamic
changes in sensor nodes configuration. Dynamic query processing
and target tracking through this unstructured sensor network
of surveillance information sources and users must use appropriate
distributed services and network protocols to solve the problems
of mobility, dispersion, weak and intermittent disconnection,
dynamic reconfiguration and limited power availability.
Benefits: Improve communications in dynamic
situations, including new features.
Optical Imaging through Clouds,
Fog, Smoke and Water
Applications: Military, industrial, communications,
medical and transportation
Project Description: Develop optical imaging
systems to detect hidden objects for industrial, communications,
medical and transportation applications using ultrafast lasers
and streak camera detection schemes. In particular, improve
vision for locating targets or vehicles in smoke, fog, under
water and other adverse atmospheric conditions. Extend existing
theory and algorithms to compute and simulate the light propagation
in turbid media, such as clouds, fog, smoke and water.
Benefits: Improve effectiveness of vision
and target recognition systems in the battlefield
Optical Water Quality Monitoring
Applications: Homeland defense, environmental
monitoring and pollution control
Project Description: Develop photonic sensors
for water quality measurements in the field using fiber optic
and diode laser source technology. Develop algorithms for
determination of water quality parameters, including turbidity,
yellow substance and algae.
Benefits: Lower cost and increase performance
for water quality measurement technology
Tunable Multiple Quantum Well GaN/AlGaN
UV Photodetectors
Applications: Ultraviolet spectroscopy,
florescence and reflectance based instruments for military,
medical and industrial uses
Project Description: Develop next generation
UV photodetectors with high efficiency and high response speed.
These GaN/AlGaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) photodetectors
can be used in space-to-earth and space-to-space communication,
missile plume detection, combustion sensing and control for
aircraft engines, optical storage, air quality monitoring,
and personal UV exposure dosimetry.
Benefits: Higher sensitivity (gain) than
currently available devices
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