Associate Professor of Computer Science Charles Wallace is rethinking cyberlearning top to bottom. He’s working with K–12 and undergraduate students, software development professionals, and senior citizens to improve how humans communicate and learn in computer-intensive environments. Digital literacy is a basic human need. There is a revolution sweeping the nation, but millions of senior citizens . . .
Every field of science and commerce now relies on computers and their capability to process data and information—fast. Moore’s law enabled doubling the number of transistors that can be put on a chip every 18 months. The ever-growing performance of computers is due to two main factors: our ability to shrink electronic circuits to smaller . . .
The Wild World of Virtual Reality As consumer costs for virtual-based products slide, Scott Kuhl’s interest in VR ramps up. “The technology used to be so expensive, only large companies could afford to use it. Now it’s on the brink of becoming more affordable and accessible, and we’re looking at how to make the systems . . .
Today’s infrastructure is connected in ways not always known until problems like extreme weather, diseases, major accidents, terror, or cyber threats arise. Say fuel delivery will be delayed. What can be done? Sixteen critical infrastructure sectors—including water, gas, energy, communications, and transportation—are linked and interdependent. The National Science Foundation is supporting new fundamental research to . . .
A microgrid is a standalone power grid requiring generation capabilities (often generators, batteries, or renewable resources) plus control methods to maintain power flow. Electronics, appliances, and heating or cooling are all responsible for consuming that power. In this project, Laura Brown and other Michigan Tech researchers are investigating a control system for such microgrids that . . .
To detect buried explosive hazards in places like Afghanistan, and to save the lives of civilians and US soldiers, Michigan Tech researcher Tim Havens realizes it requires a team—a team of sensors. This technology has the potential to not only save lives, but also to advance the basic science of how to combine sensors and . . .