Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics News

The ME-EM Graduate Seminar speaker on Thursday, October 16 at 4:00 in 103 EERC
will be Dr. Chen-Fang Chang of GM Global Research & Development.

The title of his presentation will be ‘Automotive Powertrain Control: Opportunities and Challenges’.

Advanced powertrain systems are being introduced into passenger vehicles to meet regulatory and customer demands, simultaneously increasing fuel economy, reducing emissions and enhancing driveability. As the powertrain systems become more sophisticated, it will force a dramatic increase in control complexity and calibration effort. This presentation will detail the challenges facing automotive control community and the approaches a control engineer can take to confront these challenges. IC engine controls will be used to exemplify a whole engine controller development cycle. Future outlook will also be provided.

Dr. Chang is currently the Lab Group Manager of the Propulsion Control Systems Group at GM Global R&D. Since joining GM in 1994, he has worked on cylinder-pressure-based engine controls, diesel aftertreatment controls, HCCI engine controls, and, most recently, information-rich propulsion controls. Dr. Chang received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering with minor in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He holds 43 US patents and has numerous technical publications. He is the recipient of 2013 ASME Rudolf Kalman Award and 2001 SAE Arch T. Coldwell Merit Award.

The ME-EM Graduate Seminar speaker on Thursday, October 9 at 4:00 in 103 EERC will be Dr. Nestor Voronka, Principal, M42 Technologies.

The title of his presentation will be ‘Space Tethers, Small Satellites, and System Engineering’.

This seminar will present an overview of space tether technology, its applications, and the
results of space tether missions to date. Space tethers present interesting system engineering challenges and in particular when integrated into small satellites. System engineering challenges
of both large and small spacecraft systems will be discussed along with some lessons learned and recommendations.

Dr. Nestor Voronka is the Principal of M42 Technologies, which develops, advanced technologies, provides alternative and relevant solutions to space and aerospace challenges and is currently focused on developing project solutions and flight systems for the DoD, NASA and commercial space customers. From 2003 to 2013 Mr. Voronka served as the Chief Technologist and VP of Tethers Unlimited, Inc where he led various product and technology development efforts designing space tether systems, nanosatellite components, propulsion systems, RF systems, spacecraft antennas, 3D printable radiation shielding, and UAV towed sensor systems. Mr. Voronka was the lead engineer responsible for the design, development, testing, and delivery, and operations of the MAST 3U CubeSat experiment that launched in April 2007. From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Voronka was Chief Engineer at Cybernet Systems Corp. where he was led the development of products and technologies in a number of areas including computer networking, force feedback devices, motor control, motion capture, machine vision, electro-optics, inertial navigation, aviation systems, and medical devices. While at the UM-Space Physics Research Lab 1991-1996 first as a student and then a staff engineer, Mr. Voronka worked the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1R) that flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-75 flight in February of 1996. Mr. Voronka has two Master’s degrees from the University of Michigan in Electrical Engineering in the areas of electromagnetics, and Signal/Image Processing.

The ME-EM Graduate Seminar speaker on Thursday, October 2 at 4:00 in 103 EERC will be Dr. Ye (Sarah) Sun from Michigan Tech Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics Department.

The title of her presentation will be ‘Human-Centered Monitoring: From Enabling Technology, Human Factor to Computational Diagnosis’.

The rapidly growing population ageing is a global phenomenon in the recent decades. The concomitant prevalence of chronic diseases necessitates proactive, human-centered approaches to reduce the high cost and enhance the biocompatibility and operability of the current healthcare systems. For drivers at all ages, drowsiness is one of the most prevalent root causes of accidents. Driver health and state monitoring provides an effective way to reduce the risk of driver related crashes. This study aims to facilitate the development of human-centered monitoring in healthcare and transportation safety. A comprehensive framework for human-centered monitoring has been developed that includes three major components, i.e., enabling technology, human factor and computational diagnosis. In the technology part, this study establishes a non-intrusive and non-contact interface platform for human health and state monitoring. Unlike the conventional clinical bio-potential measurement system, the platform is able to acquire the electrophysiological signals with a gap between the skin and the electrodes that is occupied by hair, cloth, and air. The non-contact platform avoids skin irritation and allergic contact dermatitis and is suitable for long-term monitoring purpose. To increase the flexibility in practical application, a body area network has also been integrated for different scenarios such as driving and home monitoring. The developed enabling technology was validated using simulated driving scenario, since it constitutes a high stress and high risk condition, especially for people with chronic diseases. For the human factor part, analyses were conducted on the physiological data collected from the drivers operating a high fidelity driving simulator. This involves driver state analyses particularly related to drowsiness and mental stress. The computational component involved the development of algorithms to assess the robustness of different physiological indicators for the extent of driver fatigue. Moreover, physiological signals for mental stress were also investigated which will serve as the technical basis for timely assistance.

Dr. Ye (Sarah) Sun is an assistant professor in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological
University. She received her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering
from Case Western Reserve University. Her research is an
interdisciplinary resort that integrates engineering innovation with
human health and human behaviors. The primary focus is on
human-centered smart monitoring technologies that integrate advance
sensor technology and decision support to improve healthcare
and transportation safety.