Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) Blog

Article by Tim Havens Published in Acoustical Society Journal

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Timothy Havens, the William and Gloria Jackson Associate Professor of Computer Systems, has co-authored a paper recently published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Volume 50, Issue 1.

The paper is titled, “Recurrent networks for direction-of-arrival identification of an acoustic source in a shallow water channel using a vector sensor.” Havens’s co-authors are Steven Whitaker (EE graduate student), Andrew Barnard (ME-EM/GLRC), and George D, Anderson, US Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC)-Newport.

The work described in the paper was funded by the United States Naval Undersea Warfare Center and Naval Engineering Education Consortium (NEEC) (Grant No. N00174-19-1-0004) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) (Grant No. N00014-20-1-2793). This is Contribution No. 76 of the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Technological University.

Abstract

Conventional direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms for shallow water environments usually contain high amounts of error due to the presence of many acoustic reflective surfaces and scattering fields. Utilizing data from a single acoustic vector sensor, the magnitude and DOA of an acoustic signature can be estimated; as such, DOA algorithms are used to reduce the error in these estimations.

Three experiments were conducted using a moving boat as an acoustic target in a waterway in Houghton, Michigan. The shallow and narrow waterway is a complex and non-linear environment for DOA estimation. This paper compares minimizing DOA errors using conventional and machine learning algorithms. The conventional algorithm uses frequency-masking averaging, and the machine learning algorithms incorporate two recurrent neural network architectures, one shallow and one deep network.

Results show that the deep neural network models the shallow water environment better than the shallow neural network, and both networks are superior in performance to the frequency-masking average method.

Citation: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 150, 111 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0005536Steven Whitaker1,b), Andrew Barnard2, George D. Anderson3, and Timothy C. Havens4

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Computer Science Faculty, Students Awarded Best Poster at ITiCSE

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Department of Computer Science faculty and students presented two posters, a paper, and chaired a session at the 26th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), conducted online June 26 to July 1, 2021.

“A Visualization for Teaching Integer Coercion,” a poster presented by James Walker with Steven Carr, Ahmed Radwan, Yu-Hsiang Hu, Yu Chin Cheng, Jean Mayo, and Ching-Kuang Shene, was one of three posters that received the conference’s Best Poster Award.

The poster describes the Expression Evaluation (EE) visualization tool. The tool is designed to aid students in understanding type conversions that take place implicitly in C. Understanding type conversions is essential to avoid Integer errors in C which continue to be a source of security vulnerabilities.

An additional paper and poster were presented at the conference, below. Dr. Linda Ott chaired a conference session on Students: Diversity.

Poster: Modeling the Growth and Spread of Infectious Diseases to Teach Computational Thinking by Meara Pellar-Kosbar, Dylan Gaines, Lauren Monroe, Alec Rospierski, Alexander Martin, Ben Vigna, Devin Stewart, Jared Perttunen, Calvin Voss, Robert Pastel and Leo Ureel II

The poster discusses a simulation model developed to teach middle school students about the spread of infectious diseases augmented with affordances to help students develop computational thinking skills. The simulation was partially developed as a Citizen Science project in the courses CS4760 and CS5760, User Interface Design and Human Computer Interaction.

Presentation: Frozen in the Past: When it Comes to Analogy Fears, It’s Time For Us to “Let it Go” by Briana Bettin and Linda Ott

This position paper describes a fundamental difference in attitudes toward the use of analogy in the computer science education community versus other STEM education communities. Additionally, it provides suggestions for how to address concerns in the CS education research community in order to advance research into the use of analogy in computing education

The 26th annual conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) was sponsored by ACM, the ACM Special Interest Group on Computing Education (SIGCSE), the ACM Europe Council, and Informatics Europe.

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Dean Liveay’s Open Office Hours to Resume August 24, 2-3 pm

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College of Computing Dean Dennis Livesay will resume in-person open drop-in office hours every Friday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., beginning Friday, August 24, 2021, through the spring 2022 semester, while classes are in session.

All faculty, staff, and students who wish to chat with Dr. Livesay are invited to “drop in.” Appointments are not needed.

Dean Livesay’s office is in Rekhi Hall, Room 223. Email the dean at dlivesay@mtu.edu.

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Virtual Poster Session at the 2021 Alumni Reunion

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by Graduate Student Government

The Graduate Student Government (GSG) is pleased to announce a hybrid poster presentation session at Alumni Reunion 2021, which will be held Aug. 6.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, GSG has decided to combine physical posters with prerecorded presentations from participants. This has been decided to keep in mind the health and safety of everyone who is going to be a part of this event, since the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.

The Alumni Reunion poster presentation session is a continued tradition designed to increase interaction between graduate students and MTU alumni. It is a unique opportunity for graduate students to share their research work and expand network connections. This event is also a great opportunity for students to work on their presentation skills and prepare for upcoming conferences. Alumni will be able to give valuable insight and feedback on the videos that appeal to them.

Participation is open to graduate students from all departments. The event will consist of elevator-pitch-style poster presentations, with physical posters and prerecorded presentations by participants. This hybrid setup will allow alumni to take a closer look at the physical posters and everyone to view the video presentations for the respective posters. Registration closes on July 16 at 11:59 p.m. Limited seats only. Don’t wait — register today.

Detailed instructions and guidelines for recording your presentation will be sent out to you once you have registered. Alternatively, you will also be able to find the instructions on the GSG website. The deadline for participants to submit their presentation videos is July 30.

For more information, please contact Shreya Joshi at gsg-research@mtu.edu.

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NERC Seeking Cybersecurity Specialist

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The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is hiring a Bulk Power System Cybersecurity Specialist to join a team working with industry to help advance the concepts of a cyber-physical system and integration of cyber and physical security into conventional grid planning, operations, design, and restoration activities.

The position requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university.

Download more information about the position here.

Visit the NERC Career Opportunities webpage here.

Position Summary

The Bulk Power System Cybersecurity Specialist is responsible for providing cyber and physical security subject matter expertise in support of the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise evaluation and management of risks to reliability, security, and resilience of the bulk power system (BPS). This role will assist, lead, and manage various projects related to supporting industry integration of cyber and physical security into all aspects of system planning, operations, and restoration. It will also help industry with integrating new technologies and addressing emerging reliability and security issues. The role will coordinate with other departments within NERC as well as with the E-ISAC. This position reports to the Senior Manager of Bulk Power System Security and Grid Transformation.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a not-for-profit international regulatory authority whose mission is to assure the effective and efficient reduction of risks to the reliability and security of the grid. NERC develops and enforces Reliability Standards; annually assesses seasonal and long‐term reliability; monitors the bulk power system through system awareness; and educates, trains, and certifies industry personnel.

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Michigan Tech Submits Record Number of Concept Papers to Federal Railroad Administration

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by Pasi Lautala

Thomas Oommen (GMES, ICC), Ricardo Eiris, (CEGE, ICC), and Beth Veinott (CLS, ICC) are among eight Michigan Tech researchers who have submitted a a record number of eight concept papers for proposed research projects with the Federal Railroad Administration.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requested that Michigan Tech submit a record number of eight concept papers for proposed research projects as part of their 2021 Broad Agency Announcement.

In addition, Tech is a subcontractor for two more concept paper proposals. The paper submittal was coordinated by the Rail Transportation Program and the range of topics speaks to the diversity of Michigan Tech’s expertise applicable to the rail transportation. The PIs are looking forward to FRA decisions on how many of these papers advance to full proposals.

Each of the 10 projects had a different principal investigator (PI), representing six university departments/institutes and several more co-PIs.

The project titles and their PIs include:

  • Hyper- and Multi-spectral Sensing and Deep Learning for Automated Identification of Roadbed Condition, (PI, Thomas Oommen, GMES).
  • Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) for Weld Enhanced Cast Steel Coupler Knuckles (PI, Paul Sanders, MSE).
  • IoT Assisted Data-analytics Framework Enables Assessment of Location Based Ride Quality (LBRQ) (PI, Sriram Malladi, MEEM).
  • RailStory: Using Web-based Immersive Storytelling to Attract the Next Generation of Young Women in Rail (PI, Ricardo Eiris, CEGE).
  • A Risk Informed Decision-Making Framework for Coastal Railroad System Subjected to Storm Hazards and Sea Level Rise (PI, Yousef Darestani, CEGE).
  • Rail Corridor Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) Framework, Factors and Models to Support Project Evaluation and Multi-Modal Comparisons (PI, Pasi Lautala, CEGE).
  • Development of Infrared Thermography for Effective Rail Weld Inspection (PI, Qingli Dai, CEGE).
  • Enabling Longer-distance, AI-enabled Drone-based Grade Crossing Assessment in Potentially GPS Denied Environments (PI, Colin Brooks).
  • Multi-Site Simulation to Examine Driver Behavior Impact of Integrated Rail Crossing Violation Warning (RCVW) and In-Vehicle Auditory/Visual Alert (IVAA) System (PI, Elizabeth Veinott, subcontract with Virginia Tech).
  • Evaluation of Non-traditional Methods of Reducing Emissions in Short Line Railroad Operations (PI, Jeremy Worm, subcontract with ASLRRA).

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Dr. Daniel Fuhrmann Named Chair of Applied Computing Department

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Dr. Daniel R. Fuhrmann, Dave House Professor of Computer Engineering, has been appointed chair of the Department of Applied Computing, effective immediately. Dr. Fuhrmann has been interim chair of the department since its founding in 2020. Prior to joining the College of Computing, he was chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) from 2008 to 2019.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” said Dr. Dennis Livesay, the Dave House Dean of Computing. “Dan was instrumental in the creation of the College, and I know that his leadership will help the department achieve its promise. Computing is transforming every discipline and it’s hard to imagine any unit on campus reflecting that more than the Department of Applied Computing.”

The Department of Applied Computing offers undergraduate Bachelor of Science programs in Computer Network and System Administration (CNSA) and Electrical Engineering Technology (EET). On the graduate side, the department also offers a M.S. in Health Informatics.

The department also collaborates on three convergence programs. In cooperation with the Department of Computer Science it offers the B.S. in Cybersecurity, which began enrolling students in Fall 2019. In cooperation with the Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MMET), in the College of Engineering, the department offers both a M.S. and B.S. in Mechatronics, which began enrolling students in Fall 2019 and 2020, respectively.

In addition to teaching AC program courses, faculty in the department pursue research in a variety of computing areas, including cybersecurity, mechatronics, health informatics, and machine learning. Growing the department’s industrial and applied research portfolio will be a major emphasis for Dr. Fuhrmann.

“I’m excited about doing what I can to help build this new department at Michigan Tech,” says Fuhrmann. “There are a lot of synergies that may not be immediately apparent within traditional academic structures, but they reflect what is happening in industry today.”

For example, computer networks and cybersecurity are playing an increasingly important role in industrial control and automation, and robotics and the Internet of Things is highly relevant for the evolving field of health informatics, Fuhrmann explains.

“Machine learning is also having an impact across all areas in the department,” Fuhrmann adds. “We will be focusing on helping both our students and our industry partners navigate this convergence of physical and cyber technologies.”

The Department of Applied Computing brings together those faculty and programs in the College of Computing with a common interest in applied aspects of computing.

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Guy Hembroff Presents Invited Talk at HIMSS Meeting

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On May 18, 2021, Dr. Guy Hembroff, Applied Computing, presented an invited talk at a meeting of Michigan’s Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Dr. Hembroff discussed his work developing a trusted framework architecture designed to improve population health management and patient engagement.

The talk demonstrated his team’s work in the development of accurate geo-tagged pandemic prediction algorithms, which are used to help coordinate medical supply chains to care for patients most vulnerable to COVID-19, an innovation that can be extended to help improve general population health management.

The framework of the pandemic prediction architecture, which aggregates longitudinal patient health data, including patient generated health data and social determinants of health, is a holistic and secure mHealth community model. The model can help Michigan residents overcome significant barriers in healthcare, while providing healthcare agencies with improved and coordinated population management and pandemic prediction.

The architecture’s machine learning algorithms strategically connect residents to community resources, providing customized health education aimed to increase the health literacy, empowerment and self-management of patients. The security of the architecture includes development of unique health identifiers and touch-less biometrics capable of large-scale identity management.

Dr. Guy Hembroff is an associate professor in the Applied Computing department of the Michigan Tech College of Computing, and director of the Health Informatics graduate program. His areas of expertise are network engineering, medical/health informatics, biometric development, intelligent medical devices, data analytics, and cybersecurity.

The event was sponsored by HIMSS and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM).

A mission-driven non-profit, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS) is a global advisor and thought leader supporting the transformation of the health ecosystem through information and technology, according to the organization’s website.

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