Episodes
Thursday Jul 02, 2020
Industrial Engineering Frontiers for Future Work and Factories with IE's Shimon Nof
Thursday Jul 02, 2020
Thursday Jul 02, 2020
Our June 2020 episode features an interview with Shimon Nof, a professor of Industrial Engineering in the School of Industrial Engineering at Purdue University
Nof discusses the foundation of Industrial Engineering, Industry 4.0, emerging areas of research, and the role industrial engineers play in helping solve challenges from the pandemic we are facing with COVID-19.
He discovered industrial engineering in high school and it appealed to him more than other areas of engineering because of the human factors involved and how he could see himself contributing to society. Through his long career, his research has pioneered the development of knowledge-based computer-aided facility design and robotics control models. He has held visiting positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at universities in Chile, the European Union, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the UK.
Nof is also the Director of the PRISM Center, an NSF-industry supported center focused on Production, Robotics and Integration Software for Manufacturing & Management. His current research projects include cyber-supported integration and collaboration of distributed e-Work and robotics, as well as CCT (Collaborative Control Theory) with applications in industrial, management, transportation and agricultural systems.
Podcast Extras are available on the Purdue Engineering podcast website.
Thursday May 28, 2020
Advancing Sustainability Across Disciplines with ChE's Agrawal
Thursday May 28, 2020
Thursday May 28, 2020
Our May 2020 episode features an interview with Rakesh Agrawal, PhD, the Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering.
Agrawal discusses principal interests that have driven his research during the 15 years since he left the corporate world for academia.
From his first days on Purdue’s College of Engineering faculty, he has shown a zeal to contribute to energy sustainability for the future. This passion has taken him into multidisciplinary collaborations extending far beyond chemical engineering.
His pursuit of renewable energy has translated into enthusiasm for developing low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells — through printing with light-sensitive ink composed of unique nanocrystals. Intensive work at the world-class laboratory of the Rakesh Agrawal Research Group has yielded cells with approximately 15 percent efficiency so far, and these efforts continue toward the goal of 20 percent efficiency.
As an offshoot of his work on capturing the sun’s energy, Agrawal more recently started researching technologies for growing food at the same time in the same spaces. This facilitates the human race’s shift from fossil energy to solar resources without disruptive competition for land. Agrawal’s team has built its first plant on agricultural land owned by Purdue, and data on combined food and solar-power production are being collected.
The combination of research on sustainable food, energy, and water systems is called SFEWS. Agrawal says he has found abundant support among faculty and administration at Purdue for this collaborative research involving broad areas of know-how in multiple types of engineering, agriculture, economics, business and more.
The interdisciplinarity of this SFEWS work — and the need to educate generations of engineering talent ready for such broad collaborations —have[1] helped Agrawal receive support from the National Science Foundation’s Research Traineeship (NRT) and Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS) programs.
Agrawal and collaborators across Purdue have been developing multidisciplinary courses attracting diverse groups of students under NSF training grants for studies in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Those students have impressed Agrawal by forming cohesive groups. He says they want to shape a brighter future and cooperate with one another as they tackle their own specialized tasks.
The professor’s third principal area of research interest dates to his days as a chemical engineer in the corporate sector. He is pleased that his efforts to increase the energy efficiency of processes to separate products at petroleum and chemical plants have continued to yield exciting results.
See additional show notes on Purdue Engineering podcast website.
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Improving Water Treatment, Moving to Online Learning with CE’s Chip Blatchley
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
This April 2020 episode looks at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, part of the College of Engineering at Purdue University.
The world’s current battle against the COVID-19 pandemic makes this episode especially timely because our interview is with Professor Ernest R. (“Chip”) Blatchley III. His research deals with the preservation and disinfection of water supplies; his long-standing efforts to improve water purification in the U.S. and around the world through ultraviolet radiation and halogen chemicals such as chlorine may have implications for ridding water of the novel coronavirus.
Blatchley is the Lee A. Rieth Professor in Environmental Engineering, holding a joint appointment in the Lyles School and in Environmental and Ecological Engineering.
His lab research aims to assist in the generation of data about the impact of UV radiation on the newest coronavirus. Past efforts have uncovered beneficial impacts combating previously identified coronaviruses or other waterborne dangers. The research also takes into account the fact that UV and chlorine have proved to be complementary for disinfection purposes, for degrading toxic organic compounds. So, COVID-19 may present similar scenarios.
Blatchley sees Purdue providing a full range of capabilities from a number of disciplines that can benefit his areas of research. Environmental engineering is a broad and growing field, and it is inherently interdisciplinary. The potential for wide-ranging collaboration is one of the University’s great strengths, he says, noting that the opportunities for continuous learning are exciting for him and his students.
The Lyles School is involved in at least one of the Purdue Engineering Initiatives, or PEIs – namely, regarding increased capabilities for flight in cislunar space. Blatchley’s research lab has collaborated with NASA, among many governmental, corporate and academic organizations.
Education in civil engineering and environmental engineering has been evolving and will continue to do so, Blatchley says. COVID-19 will change a number of things, including teaching styles. Students have adjusted well to Purdue’s full transition to distance learning triggered by the pandemic. Already, before the health crisis, the College of Engineering was expanding virtual education opportunities, for example, with the development of affordable online master’s programs in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and
Blatchley is writing a book about applications of UV radiation – at the core of lab research he has conducted over the years. He will develop a class related to the book, to be taught via distance education. UV radiation is used for disinfection differently around the world, so online learning will create opportunities for unusual conversations and valuable cross-boundary learning.
See additional show notes on the Purdue Engineering podcast website.
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Building Out the Infrastructure with CEM’s Mark Hastak
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
The April 2020 episode presents this episode featuring an interview with Makarand (Mark) Hastak, PhD, head of Construction Engineering and Management in Purdue University’s College of Engineering.
Hastak discusses CEM’s extensive, cutting-edge role in all aspects of infrastructure, pointing out how the definition of that familiar term has broadened. CEM’s unique approach to the combination of research and teaching includes special engagement among alumni and other knowledgeable practitioners, industry, and peer academic institutions, as well as graduate and undergraduate students.
The CEM head explains how this approach enables world-class faculty to serve the construction industry through visionary and time-tested experience. The contributions cover the entire lifespan of a typical construction project, with attention to quality, safety, cost, schedule and sustainability, Hastak says. That lifespan comprises planning, design, physical construction, and maintenance.
Faculty members are internationally recognized in specialized areas, such as facilities engineering, virtual reality, augmented reality, cyberspace applications, construction safety, disaster risk reduction, geographic Information Systems (GIS), building information modeling (BIM), heavy construction, underground infrastructure, and construction company profitability.
According to ASCE estimates, the U.S. needs to invest $4.5 trillion by 2025 to maintain its existing civil infrastructure. This civil infrastructure is the concept most familiar to the general public, largely referring to municipal supplies of water and electricity, as well as bridges, dams, tunnels and much more. Hastak also names social, educational, environmental, financial and cyber/communication as types of civic infrastructure.
Purdue’s CEM is perhaps the only program in the country whose curriculum includes three internships for every undergraduate. Every summer, about 120 students fan out to dozens of companies, in the U.S. and overseas, to receive hands-on learning as paid interns. Over time, CEM has built relationships with some 180 construction companies. The experiential component of learning is a distinguishing feature of Purdue’s program. Alumni play a crucial role as mentors for internships.
CEM pays particular attention to successful career preparation for women and underrepresented minority group members among undergraduates. Hastak is proud that CEM alumni established the Women in Construction (WinC) mentoring program to support female students. Interns can tap into the insights and assistance of the WinC network. Currently, women constitute about 25 percent of every CEM graduating class.
Hastak graduated from Purdue with his PhD in 1994. He worked in industry for a time before joining academia, and he returned to Purdue in 2001. In 2019, this renowned author and industry influencer received the honor of being named Dernlan Family Head of Construction Engineering and Management.
All CEM stakeholders are involved in a major strategic planning process to map the division’s next five years to remain “the best of the best” in construction engineering and management education, Hastak says. CEM celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2016-2017.
All five Purdue Engineering Initiatives (PEIs), underway as incubators for advanced planning of College of Engineering priorities and programs, have connections to CEM, Hastak notes. The division is addressing opportunities to bring data analytics and digital capabilities more fully into the construction field. Most CEM research is conducted by interdisciplinary teams.
Hastak foresees a surge in the number of qualified construction engineers needed to implement the anticipated investment in infrastructure repair and expansion.CEM is expanding its expertise in the virtual-physical space. Also, it is developing a professional master’s program, combining on-site and online learning, to offer customizable graduate-level programs that update skills in various areas of specialization.
CEM will also be the home for a Purdue center of excellence to optimize collaboration between experts in industry and academia to focus on addressing major challenges. The center is called Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Operations, and Maintenance(EPCOM).
See additional show notes on the Purdue Engineering podcast website.
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
For March 2020, we're presenting two episodes featuring professors in the School of Materials Engineering (MSE).
This first episode introduces David Bahr, PhD, head and professor of materials engineering, who guides our tour of innovations and cutting-edge experts who have been part of big change at Purdue University’s College of Engineering.
The episode provides background on the growth of the School of Materials Engineering, which in its first 60 years has become the fifth-largest materials engineering program in the U.S.
New material groups have emerged continuously over 60 years, adding breadth and depth to a repertoire that at first was focused on metals. The spectrum now includes ceramics, polymers, electronic materials, biomaterials, energetic materials, and more. Nanomaterials are formed as thin films that may combine the properties of more than one kind of material. Some nanomaterials have the thickness of a single atom and are called two-dimensional materials. One such material comprising a single layer of atoms is called graphene.
Haiyan Wang, the Basil S. Turner Professor of Engineering, is a noted researcher in thin film composites suited to the nanostructures of next-generation computing devices. Among the devices being developed are those that could no longer be called microelectronics; they transmit information using photons, not electrons, so they bear the name “photonics.” Wang mentioned Professor Michael Manfra, who is focused on a different path toward quantum computing.
Professor Matthew Krane centers his materials engineering and mechanical engineering research around metals processing and microstructures that affect product efficiency, efficacy and sustainability. His manufacturing partners include companies in today’s steel industry, with its new demand for customized, advanced properties. Krane mentioned Professor Kenneth Sandhage, who is pursuing properties of intensive heat and corrosion resistance in materials that would provide heat-transfer functions in concentrated solar power plants.
Professor Jeffrey Youngblood works on polymers and other materials, such as ceramics, with a special focus on optimizing sustainability in products. His research seeks out natural materials, including cellulose, but all materials must be judged in light of a “triple bottom line” standard. Products must be functional, cost-effective and sustainable. One Purdue innovation, nano-cellulose-enabled concrete, has been used to pave a parking lot in South Carolina.
This triple bottom line also applies to development of such products as heat exchangers for turbine engines, a project in which Youngblood has joined forces with Professor Rodney Trice. They aim to reduce jet engines’ carbon footprint. Their collaborators include the Burke Laboratory, a mechanical engineering research facility emphasizing energy efficiency.
Professor Davin Piercey develops new energetic materials, such as explosives. One must address an array of safety and toxicity concerns in this field. The quality of replacement materials can be determined through small-scale experimentation. Piercey said the experimentalists enjoy the hands-on work but also benefit from the predictive skills of data scientists conducting simulations and modeling to assess different materials and properties.
See additional show notes on the Purdue Engineering podcast website.
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
This second episode of the two-part visit to the School of Materials Engineering (MSE) remains centered on the overview provided by David Bahr PhD, head and professor and head of materials engineering. Again, comments from other faculty members with special areas of innovative expertise are interspersed throughout the conversation with Bahr.
Bahr told us ceramics are wide-ranging, from coffee mugs to glass windows to temperature-resistant materials for advanced applications. The complexity of making this last group of ceramics has prompted new research on more cost-effective, smaller-scale “additive manufacturing” of ceramics. These processes are akin to additive manufacturing of polymers and the 3D printing techniques increasingly common in workplaces.
Professor Rodney Trice, mentioned in the previous episode, spoke of ceramics in the context of an urgent challenge now confronted in the defense arena. Materials for hypersonic missile flight must be extremely heat-resistant, as well as resistant to oxidation. Trice is part of a large community of industry and academic researchers pursuing ceramic innovation.
Professor Chelsea Davis exemplifies interest in measurement of adhesion strength between materials. One project for which she leads a team of students, along with Professor Kendra Erk, addresses the road-signage needs of the Indiana Department of Transportation. Davis has seen how MSE prepares students to work in a wide range of applications.
In another testimony to the variety of career paths for materials engineers, Bahr pointed out that one of the School’s faculty members, Professor Jan-Anders Mansson, will oversee Purdue’s new Ray Ewry Sports Engineering Center.
Bahr said the School’s comprehensive materials know-how fits well with the broad visioning taking place in the five Purdue Engineering Initiatives. Those PEIs are virtual structures for incubating innovations connecting principal trends in engineering to the College’s distinctive strengths for ongoing leadership.
One early example of the intersection between MSE’s resources and the path toward top-priority impacts in engineering is nanoHUB, Bahr said. The international materials community has embraced the nanoHUB tools that were created by Purdue engineers. That places the School at the heart of planning for future applications of computational resources and data science.
Professor Alejandro Strachan is one representative of MSE’s early and ongoing momentum in using data to advance materials research. He said the ability to use predictive modeling based on physics has already helped to accelerate engineering. Bahr said the School and its extended community will continue to be a crucial part of the teamwork that makes Purdue a leader in engineering.
For more podcasts, visit the Purdue Engineering podcast website.
Friday Feb 28, 2020
The Next Generation of Nano-Scale Intelligent Systems with ECE's Kaushik Roy
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Friday Feb 28, 2020
For February 2020, we present two episodes featuring professors in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This episode explores the next generation of nano-scale technologies with a leading global expert in the field, Professor Kaushik Roy.
He directs Purdue’s Nanoelectronics Research Laboratory, which was established in the 1990s and has been in the forefront of collaborative nanotechnology developments throughout that time. Its work, supported by an array of sponsors, extends not only to devices, but to the architecture and algorithms that can support prospective advances in devices through the new Center for Brain-Inspired Computing. There are nine universities involved in C-BRIC’s work, with about 120 Ph.D. students, according to Roy.
C-BRIC is supported by the Semiconductor Research Corp. via its Joint University Microelectronics Program (JUMP), which provides funding from diverse industrial sponsors and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Center’s goal is to deliver key advances in cognitive computing—the launch pad for the next generation of AI—to enable new autonomous intelligent systems, such as self-flying drones and interactive personal robots. Major issues of energy efficiency, comprehensive learning, and robust autonomous performance must be addressed, he said.
Roy described how C-BRIC’s efforts with “brain-inspired” algorithms and theory, as well as neuromorphic hardware, can lead to distributed intelligence that more closely emulates they way human brains functions.
In the spirit of the Purdue Engineering Initiatives as incubators for wide-ranging engagements, Roy said his laboratory utilizes many interdisciplinary collaborations. Developments inspired by the human brain’s capabilities must bridge machine learning, computational neuroscience, theoretical computer science, hardware expertise, mathematics, applications in robotics and autonomous systems, and mechanical engineering as well as electrical engineering.
In keeping with the College of Engineering celebration of 120 years of history, Roy said Purdue has proven adept at facilitating the kind of wide-ranging expertise and cooperation that has already moved nano-scale technology far beyond original expectations. A resource already developed years ago by Purdue, now known internationally as Nanohub.com, has proven extremely valuable for cooperative innovation at the nano scale, Roy said, and the University’s leadership in the field continues.
See additional show notes on the Purdue Engineering podcast website.
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Electronic Imaging with ECE’s Edward Delp
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Friday Feb 28, 2020
For February 2020, we present two episodes featuring professors in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This episode explores electronic imaging with a leading global expert in the field, Professor Edward J. Delp.
As director of Purdue’s Video and Image Processing Laboratory (VIPER), Delp is making news at the forefront of media analysis techniques with urgent security implications—namely, detecting digital manipulation in videos colloquially called “deep fakes.” The laboratory’s research agenda, with links provided here, also helps the world see things more clearly—and productively—in other arenas of international security and forensics, as well as biomedicine, precision agriculture, multimedia technologies, and more.
In the spirit of the Purdue Engineering Initiatives as incubators for wide-ranging engagements, Delp said his work has many interdisciplinary connections with research conducted elsewhere at Purdue and supported by various organizations in the government and private sectors. These include long-standing collaborations with Purdue’s College of Agriculture and Indiana University School of Medicine.
Delp is also a faculty member in the College’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. He said his collaborations extend to about a dozen organizations around the world.
Given the danger that members of the public will lose trust in the validity of media messages they consume, there is an urgent need to stay ahead of bad actors misusing fast-paced developments in technology, Delp said.
In keeping with the celebration of 120 years of history in the College of Engineering, Delp noted that Purdue University has been influential in the processing and analysis of images for close to a century. The forerunner of the school of Electrical and Computer Engineering played an important role in the early development of television, as discussed in this news article. The University’s work in digital image processing and analysis dates back to the 1950s.
The University will remain a leader in the growing use of digital imaging equipment of all sorts and in other areas of engineering, according to Delp. He said one of the great things about his job is the ability to work with so many intelligent young people who are fascinated with the potential of such devices and have allowed the spread of digital imaging to spark their creativity. Such technologies may have their down-sides, he said, but advancements in many fields, including human health and farming around the world, show that the diverse research in which Purdue excels offers great value to society.
See additional show notes on the Purdue Engineering podcast website. .
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
A new podcast series presented by Purdue University’s College of Engineering, launches this month with an episode interviewing Dean Mung Chiang, Ph.D., and Acting Dean Mark Lundstrom, Ph.D. They provide a valuable and vibrantly personal overview combining historical awareness and visionary motivation for the College’s extended community—faculty students, alumni, and partners across the campus and around the world.
The podcast is timely because of an important intersection between the past and the future, as these distinguished guests point out. The College is celebrating a 120th anniversary, and it has entered its first year of the Purdue Engineering Initiatives (PEI). These PEIs are described as pioneering endeavors to explore “how academia can invent new ways to launch new initiatives” that will keep the College at the forefront of the most exciting developments in engineering around the world.
The five PEIs are “virtual structures” for cultivating interdisciplinary ventures that entail research, learning, and engagement. They are chaired by faculty members and scheduled to span three to six years. These are the five areas of emphasis:
- Data and Engineering Applications
- Autonomous and Connected Systems
- Innovation and Making
- Engineering and Medicine
- Cislunar
See additional show notes on the Purdue Engineering podcast website.