Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) Blog

Tomorrow Needs Seminar: Homin Song, Thurs., Jan. 23, 4 pm

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Homin Song, a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory, will present a lecture on Thursday, January 23, 2020, at 4:00 p.m., in EERC 103.

The lecture is part of the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Graduate Seminar Speaker Series. It is presented in part by the Tomorrow Needs Faculty and Scientist Seminar Series sponsored by the Michigan Tech colleges of Computing, Engineering, and Sciences and Arts, Great Lakes Research Center, and Institute of Computing and Cybersystems. Learn more at mtu.edu/icc/seminars.

Homin’s research interests lie in nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) based on ultrasonic wave motion. His broad spectrum of expertise encompasses the topical areas of NDE/SHM, such as advanced ultrasound sensing technology, signal/data processing, numerical modeling, and experimental solid mechanics. His current postdoctoral research aims at developing a super-resolution non-contact ultrasonic array imaging technique via deep learning.

Song completed a Ph.D. in civil engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019. He holds an M.S. degree from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and a B.S. from Hanyang University, also in civil engineering.

Homin was awarded the Student Best Paper Award at the 2017 International Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, the Student Award for Research on NDT from American Concrete Institute, and the Outstanding Paper Award from the Korean Society of Civil Engineers. 

Abstract: Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are essential for today’s modern structures to ensure their long-term performance and reduced maintenance cost. The talk will present two full-field high-resolution ultrasonic imaging approaches to detect, image, and characterize internal damage in various materials and structural elements. The first approach is a near-field imaging technique via noncontact ultrasonic scanning measurements. Development of novel ultrasonic scanning hardware, numerical and experimental wave mechanics study to understand complicated wave scattering, and wavefield data processing are presented. A unique application of the developed approach to large-scale concrete structures under realistic damage-promoting environments is also presented. The second approach is a far-field imaging technique based on deep learning. A novel hierarchical multi-scale deep learning approach designed to image subtle structural defects is presented. The results are compared with those obtained by a widely accepted high-resolution imaging technique, Time-reversal MUSIC. 

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ECE’s Tony Pinar Joins ICC

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The Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) is pleased to welcome Tony Pinar as a member. Pinar’s primary research interests are in applied machine learning and data fusion. A lecturer in Michigan Tech’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department, Pinar holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Tech. His previous positions include research engineer for Michigan Tech’s Advanced Power System Research Center and electrical design engineer for GE Aviation. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society.

Pinar’s teaching interests include machine learning, signal processing, and electronic design. Included among the classes he teaches are Electronics, Electronic Applications, Probability—Signal Analysis, and Control Systems I.

“Teaching is like a puzzle where one may have to take a difficult concept, reduce it to digestible pieces, and deliver them to fresh minds in a way to maximize understanding and insight,” Pinar says. “That challenge is what drives me to be a better teacher.”

Pinar believes that to be a good teacher one must understand the topics very well and he strives for the most effective delivery. “This keeps me on my toes, forces me to constantly identify holes in my knowledge, and drives me to continuously strive to learn new things,” he explains.

On research, Pinar says it is rewarding to work on open-ended and novel problems that are in their infancy and at the cutting edge of today’s technology.

“It is also exciting to me to watch the cutting edge move forward, see what sticks and what doesn’t, and observe how the direction(s) of the field evolve,” he adds. “I’m very new to this domain so I haven’t been able to observe it for long, but I am looking forward to witnessing the future of the field.”

Pinar is looking forward to becoming more involved with research, and he is looking for new collaborations with other ICC and Michigan Tech researchers.

“The resources and network the ICC provides to new—and even established—researchers are set up in a way to cultivate its members’ talent and support career pathways. I am looking forward to being a part of this dynamic Michigan Tech research institute,” Pinar says.

Pinar’s recent publications include the following.

M. A. Islam, D. T. Anderson, A. Pinar, T. C. Havens, G. Scott and J. M. Keller. “Enabling Explainable Fusion in Deep Learning with Fuzzy Integral Neural Networks”. IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems(2019).

U. Agrawal, A.J. Pinar, C. Wagner, T.C. Havens, D. Soria, J.M. Garibaldi. “Comparison of Fuzzy Integral-Fuzzy Measure Based Ensemble Algorithms with the State-of-the-Art Ensemble Algorithms”. International Conference on Information Processing and Management of Uncertainty in Knowledge-Based Systems (IPMU) (2018).

B. Murray, M.A. Islam, A.J. Pinar, T.C. Havens, D.T. Anderson, G. Scott. “Explainable AI for Understanding Decisions and Data-Driven Optimization of the Choquet Integral”. IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems (FUZZ-IEEE) (2018).

A.J. Pinar, D.T. Anderson, T.C. Havens, A. Zare, T. Adeyeba. “Measures of the Shapley Index for Learning Lower Complexity Fuzzy Integrals”. SpringerGranular Computing(2017).

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Tim Havens Named Associate Dean for Research

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Timothy C.  Havens, the William and Gloria Jackson Associate Professor of Computer Systems and the director of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems, has been appointed the associate dean for research for the College of Computing, effective immediately. 

In his new role, Havens will encourage and enable research success in the College and promote collaborative, cross-disciplinary research and learning experiences through research support and development, communication and marketing, advancement, and College strategy and planning.

“Tim is highly passionate about supporting research creativity and pushing the boundaries of computational knowledge.  He also has a strong history of supporting student degree completion and growing Michigan Tech’s reputation,” said Dean Adrienne Minerick, College of Computing. “For these reasons and more, he is an outstanding individual to cultivate and grow the College of Computing via independent research, collaborative research, and large team endeavors.  I am thrilled he has agreed to lead in this exciting new era of computing at Michigan Tech.”

In his new role, Havens will collaborate with faculty and staff in identifying and pursuing research opportunities, lead and assist with College efforts to support and secure large, externally funded research awards, and work closely with the Dean, College leadership, and other constituent groups to advance the College of Computing’s reputation, research capabilities, and impact. Havens will also work to enhance communication and relationships between other units on campus surrounding computing and related research areas and contribute to College teaching needs, among other duties.

Havens’s overarching goals for his new position encompass developing key, sustainable resources to enable research success in the College and Michigan Tech as a whole. This includes recruitment of technical research support, mentoring for new faculty and research staff, continued development of a seminar series for distinguished visitors and rising stars, and growing donor engagement in research activity.

“My long-term goal is to develop a flourishing, sustainable culture of creativity, innovation, and education, where research is the thread of daily eagerness to move the boundaries of knowledge and to solve hard puzzles,” Havens explained. “The product of this culture will be productive, rewarded researchers who exemplify their passion for pushing the envelope to our students, our alumni, and the greater research community.”

Havens knows that this sounds lofty and utopic, but his hope is that someday “we will all turn to each other and say, ahhhhh, this is it! This is inspiring!”

“During his time at Michigan Tech, Tim has proven to be a dedicated and productive researcher and—most importantly—a great collaborator,” said Peter Larson, director of research development at Michigan Tech. “It has been a pleasure to work alongside Tim this academic year in the ICC. I am confident that his leadership will be a great asset to both ICC and the College of Computing in the coming years. Tim’s collaborative nature will be instrumental in bringing teams together as we seek to expand the portfolio of computing research at Michigan Tech across new programs, new areas of research, new sponsors, and larger projects.”

Havens has a passion both for academic research and innovation, and also for mentoring. This is why he loves being a professor, where he can do both. “I really look forward to working with all the College researchers—it’s a unique opportunity to both act as a mentor to our researchers, and also to continue my own learning experience. I’m especially eager to learn more about all the great research going on in the College and at Tech, and to help our researchers accomplish their research goals,” Havens said.

“Those who know me well, know that I also like to put on a show. I view part of being an Associate Dean as exactly that—I really enjoy telling the stories of the College and our researchers, and cultivating the visibility of our new College. It’s an exciting time to be in computing at Michigan Tech.”

Havens considers himself fortunate to have to have worked with several talented research mentors in his career path, starting with his experience as a master’s student at Michigan Tech, where he investigated the optical properties of the atmosphere with his M.S. advisor, Michigan Tech professor Dr. Mike Roggemann.

Havens first job following completion of his M.S. was at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he investigated adaptive optics systems in support of the Airborne Laser program. Following that experience, he knew he wanted to be an academic researcher and a professor, so he returned to school to complete his Ph.D. at University of Missouri with advisor Dr. Jim Keller.

“Dr. Keller is a consummate researcher and one can’t help but to catch the research bug working with him. He was and continues to be a great mentor; he made sure that I received lots of practice writing papers and proposals, talking to program managers, strategizing research projects, collaborating outside my field, all important aspects of running a research program,” Havens said.

Havens notes that the duties of his latest gig, as director of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC), are very similar to those of the Associate Dean for Research. 

“The ICC is very much a part of the strategic vision for research in the College of Computing, as the institute acts as the research arm of the College. This integration allows us to best utilize the finite resources of both the College of Computing and the ICC to get the greatest return on key investments in people and resources,” Havens explained.

“Launching the new College has been a wild experience so far and such a fantastic opportunity,” Havens said. “With this shift, we boldly announce that computing is a major field of study and not just an underpinning to other disciplines. I see the new College as a place of opportunity to experiment, collaborate, develop new pedagogies, and become a model for other institutions of higher learning. Our team is strong and creative, and it’s fun working on this puzzle with them.”

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ICC Institute Mixer, Friday, January 24, 3-5 pm

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The Institute for Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) and ICC Director Tim Havens cordially invite members of the Health Research Institute (HRI) and the Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture (IPEC) to an ICC Institute Mixer on Friday, January 24, 2020, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Rekhi 214. Please join us to learn more about the ICC, network with our member researchers, and share information about your research institute. Refreshments will be served.

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Tim Havens Receives $120K Award from Signature Research, Inc.

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Timothy Havens

Tim Havens, College of Computing associate dean for research, has been awarded an 18-month, $120,000 grant by Signature Research, Inc. The project, “Machine Learning for Human-Based Visual Detection Metrics,” contributes to an effort to develop a methodology that predicts the impact to human vision due to the existence of atmospheric particles. Havens is also the director of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems and the William and Gloria Jackson Associate Professor of Computer Systems.

Abstract: This project contributes to an effort to develop a methodology that predicts the impact to human vision due to the existence of atmospheric particles. Due to the variability of atmospheric conditions and particulate matter (dust, ice, etc.) extensive field test campaigns to characterize the impacts to human vision are impractical. As a result, a model-based approach must be developed in order to evaluate all possible conditions in a virtual environment. It is envisioned that this approach will incorporate both human in-the-loop evaluations as well as generation of machine learning algorithms to serve as an in-situ human observer.

Signature Research, Inc. provides solutions to DoD and the Intelligence Community, specializing in Signature Phenomenology, Analysis, and Modeling of items of military interest covering the breadth of the electromagnetic spectrum. Signature Research, Inc. engineers and scientists have developed methodologies, tools and products to help visualize and interpret electromagnetic signatures, and Signature Research, Inc. staff are recognized experts within the various communities in which they work. SGR’s corporate headquarters is located in Calumet, Michigan, with a second operating location in Navarre, Florida near Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field. http://signatureresearchinc.com

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Samantha Smith to Present Talk for ACSHF Forum

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The first Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors (ACSHF) Forum of the Spring 2020 semester will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday (Jan. 13) in Meese 109. Samantha Smith (CLS), will present “The Relationship between Cerebral Hemovelocity and Vigilance: Sample versus Individual Outcomes, and Future Directions.”

High workload, stress, and fatigue may negatively impact operator performance in critical roles. A means to monitor ongoing performance would be useful to intercede when deficits are detected, but it is not often possible to detect these deficits in real-world tasks, in real-time. However, it has shown that cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV), a measure of changes in cognitive metabolic activity, declines alongside performance in sustained attention tasks. Thus, CBFV has been proposed as a potential way to monitor operators for indirect insight into cognitive state and performance.

This presentation will discuss a recent study exploring the relationship between CBFV and vigilance performance at the sample versus individual level and will propose the use of Recurrence Quantification Analysis to further explore the complex relationship between psychophysiological metrics and cognitive performance over time.

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Soner Onder and Dave Whalley Investigate Instruction-level Parallelism

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From Florida State University News

A Florida State University researcher is working to make computer processors execute applications in a more energy-efficient manner with the help of a new $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Professor Dave Whalley, Florida State University

“The general goal is to increase performance but to do it in a manner that is more energy efficient than the dominant computer processors that are in use today,” Professor of Computer Science David Whalley said.

To do that, Whalley and his colleague Soner Onder, a professor at Michigan Technological University, hope to more efficiently exploit what’s called instruction-level parallelism, or the ability of a computer to simultaneously execute multiple machine instructions.

Professor Soner Onder, Michigan Tech Department of Computer Science
Professor Soner Onder, Michigan Tech Department of Computer Science

“In general, VLIW processors are more energy efficient but cannot approach the performance of OoO processors except in limited domains, such as digital signal processing,” Whalley said.

Whalley’s project, called SCALE for Statically Controlled Asynchronous Lane Execution, is designed to overcome these current limitations. SCALE supports separate execution lanes, so that instructions in separate lanes can execute in parallel and dependencies between instructions in different lanes are identified by the compiler to synchronize these lanes when necessary.

“Providing distinct lanes of instructions allows the compiler to generate code for different modes of execution to adapt to the type of parallelism that is available at each point within an application,” Whalley said.

The grant began this fall and will run through August 2023. Half of the funding will come to Florida State, with the other half supporting Onder’s part of the work at Michigan Technological University. The FSU portion will support two graduate students in computer science.

FSU researcher receives NSF funding to make higher-performing computer apps
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All Researchers Invited to Research Development Day 2020

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by Research Development Office

All Michigan Tech researchers are invited to participate in the 2020 Research Development Day at Michigan Tech. The event will be held Thursday, Jan. 9. The content of the 2020 event is new and designed for both new and returning attendees.

Multiple sessions are planned for faculty at all career stages and from all disciplines. Research staff and post-docs from any discipline are also likely to find sessions of interest. We are excited to welcome Jose Fuentes as our keynote speaker.

Fuentes is an experienced faculty researcher at Penn State, with a significant track record of international work and broad research impact. As in previous years, we will end the day with research recognitions, celebrating accomplishments from across the university over the past year, followed by a networking social.

A condensed agenda is found on the reservation form. Your RSVP is requested by Jan. 3 to finalize meal counts and room arrangements. If your schedule does not permit you to attend the full day, the RSVP allows you to sign up for morning, lunch, and/or afternoon sessions.

The RSVP form should take only a minute or two to complete. A reminder and final agenda will be sent in the new year. Please contact rd-l@mtu.edu with any questions.

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Nathir Rawashdeh to Present Paper at Advances in Mechanical Engineering Conference

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Nathir Rawashdeh

A conference paper co-authored by Nathir Rawashdeh (CC/MERET), has been accepted for presentation and publication at the 5th International Conference on Advances in Mechanical Engineering, December 17-19, 2019, in Istanbul, Turkey.

The paper is entitled, “Effect of Camera’s Focal Plane Array Fill Factor on Digital Image Correlation Measurement Accuracy.” Co-authors are Ala L. Hijazi of German Jordanian University, and Christian J. Kähler of Universität der Bundeswehr München.

Abstract: The digital image correlation (DIC) method is one of the most widely used non-invasive full-field methods for deformation and strain measurements. It is currently being used in a very wide variety of applications including mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, structural engineering, manufacturing engineering, material science, non-destructive testing, biomedical and life sciences. There are many factors that affect the DIC measurement accuracy where that includes; the selection of the correlation algorithm and parameters, the camera, the lens, the type and quality of the speckle pattern, the lightening conditions and surrounding environment. Several studies have addressed the different factors influencing the accuracy of DIC measurements and the sources of error. The camera’s focal plane array (FPA) fill factor is one of the parameters for digital cameras, though it is not widely known and usually not reported in specs sheets. The fill factor of an imaging sensor is defined as the ratio of a pixel’s light sensitive area to its total theoretical area. For some types of imaging sensors, the fill factor can theoretically reach 100%. However, for the types of imaging sensors typically used in most digital cameras used in DIC measurements, such as the “interline” charge coupled device CCD and the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imaging sensors, the fill factor is much less than 100%. It is generally believed that the lower fill factor may reduce the accuracy of photogrammetric measurements. But nevertheless, there are no studies addressing the effect of the imaging sensor’s fill factor on DIC measurement accuracy. We report on research aiming to quantify the effect of fill factor on DIC measurements accuracy in terms of displacement error and strain error. We use rigid-body-translation experiments then numerically modify the recorded images to synthesize three different types of images with 1/4 of the original resolution. Each type of the synthesized images has different value of the fill factor; namely 100%, 50% and 25%. By performing DIC analysis with the same parameters on the three different types of synthesized images, the effect of fill factor on measurement accuracy may be realized. Our results show that the FPA’s fill factor can have a significant effect on the accuracy of DIC measurements. This effect is clearly dependent on the type and characteristics of the speckle pattern. The fill factor has a clear effect on measurement error for low contrast speckle patterns and for high contrast speckle patterns (black dots on white background) with small dot size (3 pixels dot diameter). However, when the dot size is large enough (about 7 pixels dot diameter), the fill factor has very minor effect on measurement error. In addition, the results also show that the effect of the fill factor is also dependent on the magnitude of translation between images. For instance, the increase in measurement error resulting from low fill factor can be more significant for subpixel translations than large translations of several pixels.
Request the full paper here.
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