ECE 507 Seminar Series
Spring 2009

When: Fridays 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Where: Cramer Hall, Room 250: 1721 SW Broadway

Led by Dr. Y.C. Jenq
Office: FAB 160-19, email: jenq@ece.pdx.edu

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Requirements
April 3
April 10
April 17
April 24
May 1
May 8
May 15
May 22
May 29
June 5

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Requirements for "P" grade

N = a total number of seminars for the Fall 2008 term.
1. Be on time and sign an attendance list before seminar starts. If you are late you might not get a chance to sign in. If you sign in late it counts for 1/2 of a seminar.
2. Some seminars will also have a second list signing at the end of the seminar. (It will be announced at the end of the seminar before 2:50 p.m.)
3. Attend N-1 seminars - student signature on the attendance lists (if two attendance lists are being required for a specific seminar your signature needs to appear on both). 4. You can substitute no more than one seminar of the required departmental seminars.

Possible substitution:

a. Other seminars offered by the ECE PSU department can be used. Other seminars (not ECE PSU) need to be approved by the instructor ahead of time.
b. Students are required to write a two-page summary of the attended seminar.

Important Rules:

• Be on time (2:00 p.m.).
• Do not disturb during presentations.
• No list signing during presentations.
• Do not use cellular phones.
• Do not use your laptop or any other electric device during the lecture.
• Please show courtesy to our distinguished speakers with your kind behavior.

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April 3

SPEAKER:
Y.C. Jenq, Ph.D.
Professor, ECE Department
Portland State University

TITLE:
ECE Graduate Program

ABSTRACT:
TBA

BIO:
Dr. Jenq received his Ph.D. in 1976 from Princeton University. He has been an IEEE fellow since 1993. His research interests include general areas of communications and signal processing. He is particularly interested in the practical aspects of the theory and applications of advanced digital signal processing techniques. These include applications in adaptive signal processing, medical signal processing, instrumentation and measurements, audio/video applications, data compression, and A/D & D/A converters.

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April 10

SPEAKER:
Gerald B. Sheblè
Maseeh Professor, ECE Department
Portland State University

TITLE:
Smart Grids

ABSTRACT:
TBA

BIO:
Gerald B. Sheblé (IEEE: M 71, SM 85, F 98) is the Maseeh Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. Dr. Sheblé received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech. He completed his MBA at the University of Iowa (2001) with a minor in Finance and in Economics. His industrial experience includes over fifteen years with a public utility (Commonwealth Edison), with a research and development firm Systems Control), with a computer vendor (Control Data Corporation) and with a consulting firm (Energy and Control Consultants). Dr. Sheblé has developed and implemented one of the first electric market simulators for the Electric Power Research Institute using genetic algorithms to simulate the competing players. Dr. Sheblé is a Fellow of the IEEE and an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer. His research interests include real option analysis, capital budgeting, portfolio analysis, artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, genetic programming, and optimization and control technologies for various industrial applications. His primary expertise is in power system optimization, scheduling, and control.

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April 17

SPEAKER:
TBA

TITLE:
TBA

ABSTRACT:
TBA

BIO:
TBA

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April 24

SPEAKER:
Dr. Amit Kumar Jain
Peregrine Power LLC

TITLE:
Control Techniques for the Single Phase Unity Power Factor Rectification

ABSTRACT:
The first part of the talk will be an introduction to Peregrine Power LLC and our current R&D projects. The second part will be dedicated to pulse width modulation (PWM) control of the dual active bridge converter for bidirectional power conversion.

The dual active bridge (DAB) converter topology is ideally suited for high power galvanically isolated dc-dc conversion. It has advantages of high power density, zero voltage switching (ZVS), bidirectional power transfer capability, a modular and symmetric structure, and simple control requirements. However, for applications requiring wide voltage variations, such as interface for energy storage, fuel cells, or photovoltaics, the DAB has limited ZVS range and high circulating currents at low loads. Utilizing pulse width modulation in addition to the conventionally used phase shift modulation mitigates these problems while adding other advantages. We will discuss two cases: PWM of one H-bridge at a time and simultaneous PWM of both H-bridges comprising the DAB. An optimum PWM scheme is proposed that extends ZVS range, reduces rms and peak currents at low loads, and results in significant size reduction of the isolation transformer. Experimental evaluation with a 10kW prototype will be presented for validation.

BIO:
Amit Kumar Jain received the Integrated M.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, in 1996 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 2000 and 2003, respectively. From 2003 to 2004, he was with the University of Minnesota as a Postdoctoral Researcher. From 2004 to 2006, he was with Analog Power Design Inc., Lakeville, MN. He is currently with Peregrine Power LLC, Wilsonville, OR. His current research interests are in control and topologies of power converters, application of silicon carbide power semiconductors and nanocrystalline magnetics in developing high-density, high-efficiency and high-power power electronic converters, and utility applications of power electronics. His publications include the "Unity Power Factor Rectification" section in the CRC Handbook on Power Electronics, and the "Power Electronics" section in the McGraw-Hill Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers.

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May 1

SPEAKER:
TBA

TITLE:
TBA

ABSTRACT:
TBA

BIO:
TBA

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May 8

SPEAKER:
Linda Rankin
Former Principal Engineer at Intel

TITLE:
Slide 1 Smart Grid: An IT Perspective

ABSTRACT:
Making our energy transmission and distribution infrastructure smarter is viewed as a key ingredient to meeting energy demands in a sustainable manner in the 2030 timeframe.  The importance of this capability, called the Smart Grid, is echoed by the allocation of over $4B in the stimulus package to
Smart Grid projects by the Obama administration. After describing the issues in meeting our 2030 energy needs, this talk will describe the role of the Smart Grid in achieving our energy objectives.  Diving a little deeper, the IT technologies that are used to create a smarter grid will be described along with a discussion of the challenges and opportunities in adopting these capabilities to the utility industry.

BIO:
Linda Rankin, a former Principal Engineer from Intel Corporation, has 22 years of experience in the high tech industry in system architecture and the design of strategic technologies.  Her accomplishments include the first architecture and design of an integrated CPU thermal solution that dramatically reduced cooling costs for desktops and notebooks, industry leadership in server and processor reliability and error handling features, and most recently the creator of the Intel QuickAssist technology that is
used in hardware acceleration.  She has directed and led projects across companies as well as multi-national teams, and holds more than 25 patents/patents pending both domestically and internationally.

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May 15

SPEAKER:
Payel Ghosh
ECE Ph.D. Candidate

TITLE:
Medical Image Segmentation using a Genetic Algorithm

ABSTRACT:
A genetic algorithm (GA) is presented here that performs level-set curve evolution using texture and shape information to automatically segment the prostate on pelvic images in computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities. Here, the segmenting contour is represented as a level-set function. The contours in a typical level-set evolution are deformed by minimizing an energy function using the gradient descent method. In this method, the computational complexity of computing derivatives increases as the number of terms (needed for curve evolution) in the energy function increases. In contrast, a genetic algorithm optimizes the level-set curve evolution process without the need to compute derivatives, thereby making the introduction of new curve evolution terms straightforward. Typically, extrinsic properties or properties belonging to the image, such as edges, local pixel intensity variations, and intrinsic properties of the candidate boundary, such as the curvature, are used for curve evolution. On the other hand, the GA developed here uses the texture of the prostate gland and its shape derived from manual segmentations to perform curve evolution. Using these high-level features makes automatic segmentation possible. 

BIO:
TBA

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May 22

SPEAKER:
Dr. Tim Tilford
Research Fellow in Computational Electromagnetics and Fluid Dynamics, University of Greenwich

TITLE:
Multiphysics Simulation of Microwave Cure Processes in Microelectronics Applications

ABSTRACT:
A wide range of thermosetting polymer materials, such as encapsulants, underfills and conductive adhesives are utilised in modern microelectronics packaging. These materials are applied as fluids and are hardened through a cure process, requiring heating to initiate or expedite curing. Currently technologies such as infrared, ultra-violet and convection heating are used for this purpose, but can take several hours to perform, slowing throughput and contributing a significant portion of the cost of manufacturing.

The maximal heating rate possible with conventional technologies is limited by the thermal conductivity of the material. Convection heating raises the temperature of the air in contact with the surface of the polymer material and heat energy is transferred into the bulk through thermal conduction. Electromagnetic energy at infrared or ultraviolet wavelengths will penetrate a small distance (approx. 200-400 nm for UV and 1-1000 μm for IR) into the load but conduction still limits the transfer into the bulk material. Electromagnetic energy at microwave frequencies (1–30 GHz.) will penetrate much further (generally several mm) into the material leading to much more rapid volumetric heating. Fundamental problems with microwave heating of electronics components include highly uneven heating (hotspots) and arcing between components. These issues can be eliminated either by rapidly varying the frequency of the microwave source – an approach referred to as Variable Frequency Microwaving (VFM).

In order to assess the performance of the VFM approach to polymer processing a numerical model has been developed which is able to consider the electromagnetic field distribution and the heating rate it induces. A cure kinetic model is employed to determine degree of cure within the polymer material and a structural mechanics solver is used to determine peak and residual stress during the process. The model has additionally been used to compare the VFM process with convection oven systems.

This presentation will outline the use of polymers in microelectronics packaging and related industrial processing requirements. The numerical modelling technology will be outlined and results showing development of key process parameters during the process will be presented. The VFM and convection oven cure processes will be compared through use of numerical simulation results.

BIO:
Tim Tilford is a Research Fellow in Computational Electromagnetics and Fluid Dynamics at the University of Greenwich. His primary research interests are simulation of microwave processing problems and of complex turbulent fluid flows. He is a member of the Institute of Maths and its Applications, a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a Member of the International Microwave Power Institute.

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May 29

SPEAKER:
Mohan K. Vattipalli
ECE Ph. D. Candidate

TITLE:
Towards Positioning Anisotropic Nanoparticles For Sensitive Detection Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)

ABSTRACT:
Since the invention of lasers in the 1960s and coupled with increased sensitivity of the optical detectors, many exciting techniques have been demonstrated in the near and far-field optical methodologies. One clear example is the coupling of light with metallic nanostructures in producing controllable geometries with the potential for high sensitivity detection, even down to the single molecule level (DOI: 10.1126/science.275.5303.1102). Using wet-chemical nanoparticle synthesis and lithography, several approaches in creating substrates for SERS were investigated. This has been a main focus of our research. Shape and size of the nanoparticle plays a vital role in the rate of sample identification. Creation of a highly localized field by triangular-prismatic shape induced nanostructures may lead to a live detection on a single molecule level using either a Raman or fluorescence method. Integrating the concepts together should help with faster analysis of unknown molecules as well. The 3D optical  field enhancements of these complex geometries are numerically modeled using a Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method. Up-to-date work will be presented and discussed.

BIO:
TBA

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June 5

SPEAKER:
TBA

TITLE:
TBA

ABSTRACT:
TBA

BIO:
TBA

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