Specialized Facilities for Instruction and Research

DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORIES
Research Laboratories
Instructional Laboratories

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING LABORATORIES
Instructional Laboratories
Research Laboratories

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORIES

RESEARCH CENTERS

COMPUTER FACILITIES

DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORIES

RESEARCH LABORATORIES

Applied BioDynamics Laboratory

Professor Collins

The Applied BioDynamics Lab focuses on developing nonlinear dynamical techniques and devices to characterize, improve, and mimic biological function. Our specific interests include: (1) systems biology—reverse engineering naturally occurring gene regulatory networks, (2) synthetic biology—modeling, designing, and constructing synthetic gene networks, and (3) developing noise-based sensory prosthetics.

Auditory Neurophysiology Laboratory

Professor Voigt

• Experimental and theoretical studies of the neuronal circuitry in the cochlear nucleus.
• Single- and multi-unit recording and analysis techniques used to study the responses of neurons and neural nets to acoustic stimulation.
• Intracellular recording and marking techniques associate specific neurons to their physiology.
• Computational neural models test hypotheses of cochlear nucleus function.

Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory

Professor Shinn-Cunningham

Studies of auditory perception, particularly perception of spatial sound and learning and adaptation:

• Development of quantitative, testable models of human performance in auditory tasks
• Effect of subject expectation on accuracy and resolution in auditory tasks
• Models of adaptation to transformed auditory spatial cues
• Localization cues for source distance

Binaural Hearing Laboratory

Professor Colburn

Our lab is focused on studies of binaural interaction, including phenomena such as sound localization for which monaural processing also plays a major role. The goal of these studies is an integrated understanding of binaural interaction and its role in human sound perception including the interpretation of acoustic cues in complex sound environments (e.g., multiple sources in reverberant spaces). Specific projects range from signal processing models of physiological activity to empirical measurements of the hearing abilities of listeners with hearing losses and/or neurological lesions. In the neural modeling area, we are evaluating the abilities of simple neural models to generate firing patterns equivalent to those seen in binaural cells in brainstem nuclei such as the MSO, LSO, and IC. In psychophysical studies of normal listeners, current interests include interaural discrimination and binaural detection, especially detection with reproducible noise maskers. In studies of listeners with hearing impairments, we are trying to relate listeners abilities on a variety of binaural tests to a primary set of psychophysical measures. In studies of sound localization and recognition, we are studying and simulating the cues that lead to externalization, localization, and separation of sources.

Biomedical Materials Research Laboratory

Professor Klapperich

The Biomedical Microdevices and Microenvironments Laboratory (BMML) is focused on the design and engineering of manufacturable, disposable microfluidic systems for low-cost point-of-care molecular diagnostics. We are currently working on devices for the detection of infectious diarrhea, influenza, and MRSA.

We are also studying interactions between cells and synthetic microenvironments. Specifically, we are interested in building culture systems in vitro that mechanically mimic the physiological environment. These synthetic microenvironments are intended for use in diagnostics, high throughput drug screening, and to enable previously impossible basic science studies. Currently we have projects aimed at recapitulating the microenvironments of the breast and the avian cochlea.

Biomedical Optics Laboratory

Professor Bigio

The focus of our research is the development of minimally invasive diagnostics and therapeutics based on optical and photonic technologies. We often collaborate with clinical researchers who test the new technologies on animals or human subjects. With noninvasive optical measurements there is minimal risk to the patient, but significant medical benefits are possible. Some of our ongoing projects include:

• Optical biopsy: development of fiber-optic probes that perform spectroscopic measurements on tissue in vivo and noninvasively to instantly diagnose cancer and other pathologies in specific organ areas.
• Optical pharmacokinetics: fiber-optic probes designed to measure drug concentrations in tissue, dramatically reducing the number of animals required for drug studies. This can also be used to determine the optimum type and dosage of novel (light-activated) chemotherapy agents for individual patients.
• Sensors to monitor the response of tumors to specific treatments.
• Optical methods for noninvasive imaging of neuronal activation and brain function.
• Optical methods for identifying different types of infectious agents.

Biomicroscopy Lab

Professor Mertz

The Biomicroscopy Lab focuses on the development of new optical microscopy techniques and on their applications to biological imaging. Our aim is to invent new techniques or to improve on existing techniques, usually for the purpose of high resolution imaging in thick tissue. We have built several experimental setups, three of which are based on femtosecond laser sources. Our current research areas include multiphoton microscopy, second harmonic generation, autoconfocal microscopy, graded field microscopy, and dynamic speckle illumination microscopy.

Our goal is to apply these techniques to biological imaging, in particular brain tissue imaging, either in-vitro (slice) or in-vivo (anesthetized animal). For this we are currently engaged in collaborations with the Neuronal Dynamics Lab (John White) and the Matt Wachowiak Lab in the Biology Department.

Biomimetics Material Engineering Laboratory

Professor Wong

The Biomimetic Materials Engineering Laboratory is focused on the development of biomaterials to probe how structure, material properties and composition of the cell-biomaterial interface affect fundamental cellular processes. Specifically, we are interested in developing substrata with features that mimic physiological and pathophysiological environments to study fundamental cellular processes at the biointerface. Current research projects include tissue engineering of small diameter blood vessels for bypass and intravascular pharmacology (e.g., stents); development of targeted nano- and micro-particle contrast agents for multi-modal (magnetic resonance, ultrasound, and optical) detection of atherosclerotic and vulnerable plaque; and engineering biomimetic systems to study restenosis and breast cancer.

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Biomimetic Systems Laboratory

Professors Mountain and Hubbard

The long-range goal of the Biomimetic Systems Laboratory is to develop large-scale biophysically based models of the auditory pathways. The purpose of these models is to aid the interpretation of and the design of physiological and psychophysical experiments as well as to study auditory models for their usefulness as preprocessors for automated recognition of acoustic signals. Experimental approaches range from single-unit recordings to auditory-evoked potentials obtained from the scalp, and modeling approaches range from computational approaches to electronic hardware implementations. This laboratory is also engaged in the study of natural acoustic signal sources and acoustic environments. The purpose of this effort is to develop a better understanding of the evolutionary pressures that have shaped the auditory pathway as well as to develop computer simulations of natural environments for use as input to the auditory models. Other current projects include the use of auditory models for the acoustic transients and development of models for processing temporal sequences.

Biomolecular Systems Laboratory

Professor DeLisi

The Bimolecular Systems Laboratory develops and applies computational/mathematical methods and high throughput experimental methods to analyze changes in gene and protein expression profiles of cells in response to various endogenous and exogenous signals. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation and the Departments of Chemistry and Physics, we are developing and applying new DNA and peptide microarray technologies for fingerprinting the complete molecular state of a cell. Examples include the response to ligands (drugs, toxins, hormones, etc.) and changes that occur as normal cells mature, differentiate, and progress toward disease. The long-range goal is to relate expression patterns to pathways, pathways to networks, and networks to function.

Brain & Vision Research Laboratory

Professor Vaina

Fundamental and applied research of visual information processing and perceptual learning in humans:

• eye movements and visual-perceptual abilities of neurological patients: measurement and rehabilitation
• structural and functional neuroimaging for functional-anatomical mapping of the visual motion system in humans
• functional plasticity in the human visual system: characteristics, computational models, and applications to rehabilitation
• computational methods for aiding visually guided navigation in visually impaired patients.

Cellular & Subcellular Mechanics Laboratories

Professors Dembo, Evans, and Wong

Experiments use extremely sensitive mechanical probes, novel materials, and advanced optical microscopy to expose the physical actions and material properties of single cells and ultrafine macro molecular machine sensors and transducers that drive and control cellular and subcellular processes. Advanced computational methods are needed for data processing and for the final physical analysis used to establish definitive mechanistic interpretations of experimental data. A core teaching laboratory for training in nano-to-micro mechanical instrumentation has been set up to enable students and faculty to develop new research projects in biomedical engineering.

• We have a goal of achieving force measurements with resolution on the scale of the thermal energy divided by a molecular dimension. We are also trying to develop noninvasive detectors that will be capable of measuring displacements with resolution of a few nanometers at very high temporal rates.
• We are conducting studies to investigate the role of structural mechanics in regulating biochemical pathways, biological adhesion phenomena, cytoskeletal deformation, and active cellular motility.
• We are developing novel materials that mimic the interfacial properties of natural biomaterials and we are studying the interactions of cells with such artificial substrata.

Cell & Tissue Mechanics Laboratory

Professors Stamenović and Suki

Fundamental and applied research of soft tissue rheology and mechanical properties of cells:

• Microstructural modeling of cytoskeletal mechanics using tensegrity architecture.
• Measurements and modeling of mechanical behavior of cartilage and engineered cartilage tissue during confined and unconfined compression.
• Measurements and microstructural modeling of mechanical properties of gas-liquid foams.
• Measurements and nonlinear modeling of the dynamic stress-strain relationship of soft tissues, in particular, of lung tissues.
• Image processing of fluorescently labeled components (such as collagen and elastin fibers) of tissues.
• Nonlinear dynamic modeling of various physiological phenomena such as avalanche mechanism of airway reopening.

Cochlear Biophysics Laboratory

Professors Mountain and Hubbard

The long-range goal of the Boston University Cochlear Biophysics Laboratory is to improve understanding of the hearing process through a synergistic combination of engineering and physiological techniques:

• Identify, quantify, and model the mechanisms responsible for mechanical sensitivity and frequency selectivity of the mammalian cochlea (inner ear). Recent experimental evidence suggests that the outer hair cells of the cochlea act as electromechanical amplifiers that increase hearing sensitivity one-hundred fold. Our efforts are directed towards confirming this hypothesis and clarifying our understanding of the underlying mechanisms.
• As a byproduct of their normal function, the outer hair cells also produce acoustic energy which can be measured in the external ear canal (otoacoustic emissions). These otoacoustic emissions have provided scientists and clinicians with a unique noninvasive tool to study cochlear function. In spite of hundreds of studies on otoacoustic emissions, the details of their production and their propagation back to the ear canal are not well understood. Our research, which builds on extensive experience with otoacoustic emissions, cochlear electrophysiology and biomechanics, and computer simulation, is expected to shed new light on this important clinical tool.

Computational Genomics Laboratory

Professor Kasif

The advent of new genomic technologies (e.g., DNA Chips, Protein Arrays, Sequencing, High Throughput PCR) and advances in computer and computational sciences created a paradigm shift in biological research. We often deploy hundreds of computers for mining genomic data such as the one generated by the Human Genome Project. Moreover, we rely on deep computational insights to bring about dramatic changes in the way we perform biological procedures and understand biological processes or data. The research we pursue in partnership with major genomic centers (TIGR, MIT Genome Center) and several other laboratories involves the analysis, computational representation, and modeling of biological systems. We are interested in human cells (including mRNA processing, apoptosis, and signal transduction) as well as bacterial pathogens (bacterial pathways and genomic organization). This highly interdisciplinary analysis is supported by research staff with expertise in biology, computer science, computational biology, and engineering.

Several specific projects conducted by the Computational Genomic Laboratory are listed below:

• Computational functional genomics: gene identification, functional classification, and gene expression analysis
• Computational comparative genomics: methods for comparing complete genomic sequences at different levels of detail
• Analysis and modeling of pathways using probabilistic networks algorithms
• Genomic biotechnology: new computer-assisted genomic and proteomic technologies

Fields & Tissues Laboratory

Professor Eisenberg

Research in the area of electrically mediated phenomena in tissues and biopolymers:

• finite element modeling of current distributions in the heart and thorax during electrical defibrillation
• finite element modeling of magnetically induced currents in inhomogeneous, anisotropic tissues and bodies
• microcontinuum-based models of electrokinetic and other electromechanical interactions in connective tissues

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Medical Acoustics Laboratory

Professor Porter

Due to its relatively low cost, portability, and beamforming capabilities, ultrasound is an ideal tool for noninvasive evaluation and treatment of a broad range of medical ailments, including vascular occlusions and cancer. Research in the Medical Acoustics Laboratory (MedAL) is focused on the design and fabrication of ultrasound technology to improve upon the diagnosis and treatment of debilitating diseases. This includes the development of targeted ultrasound contrast agents for molecular imaging applications and nano-sized vesicles that release drugs when exposed to acoustic fields. The combination of diagnostic and therapeutic technology may potentially lead to noninvasive image-guided treatment of diseases.

Micro & Nano Biosystems Laboratory

Professor J. Tien

The major challenges, needs, and opportunities for biomedical engineers in the post-genomic era of the 21st century lie in making the crucial connections between structure, function, and the design of biomolecules at the micro/nanoscale to human physiology and pathophysiology at the macroscale. To establish this mesoscale link, cell and subcellular bioengineering will draw from the basic principles of physics, chemistry, molecular biology, engineering, and computation to achieve a detailed understanding of the complex machinery that support basic processes of life. These challenges have spurred the exponential growth of the field of biological microelectromechanical systems ( bioMEMS ) and biomedical nanotechnology during the last five years.

Technologies such as oligonucleotide arrays (gene chips) and integrated fluidic chips for DNA processing promise to transform the world of biochemistry and medicine much in the same way that integrated semiconductor systems transformed the world of electronics and computation. BioMEMS can be broadly classified into two categories: systems that use microelectromechanical devices to perform biochemical or bioanalytical processes (e.g., lab on a chip) and systems in which biological components are fabricated or arranged into microscale patterns to achieve macroscale function. Examples of the latter technology include lithographic patterning of hepatocytes as well as synthetic oligonucleotide arrays used for functional genomic experimentation. Indeed, in the most futuristic visions of bionanotechnology, we anticipate that the molecular machinery and mechanical enzymes which carry out lifes functions in cells will be mounted on devices and used for specific processing applications. Design, fabrication, and use of advanced bioMEMS require bioengineers with an interdisciplinary education grounded in the fundamentals of molecular bioengineering science, hard surface science, and the engineering technologies of microfluidics, microsystem, manufacturing, and sensor fabrication. In addition, the Universitys Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Engineering provides a unique resource to facilitate the technology development and transfer that will arise from new approaches.

The Center for Nano & MicroScale Biosystems lies within the larger Whitaker Laboratories in Cellular & Subcellular Biomedical Engineering. Faculty members have expertise in biomateials, biosurface science, biocellular microdevices, microarrays, and micro/nano biofabrication. A core curriculum of new and augmented courses will provide a solid foundation in cellular and subcellular bioengineering by emphasizing methods and techniques used to establish an understanding of biomolecules, subcellular structure and machinery, and macroscopic cell properties and function. BME students will take full advantage of courses that deal with contemporary issues in biomedicine and advanced biotechnology, nano/microscale design and fabrication of biodevices, biomaterials, and tissue engineering. Perhaps more important, the broad education foundation they receive will prepare BME graduates to provide innovations that will directly improve human health.

The facilties will house technologies and active research programs that will provide the materials science concepts, analytical and quality control methods, and chemical strategies needed: (1) to link soft biomolecular structures to hard material surfaces for biosensors, array technologies, new chromatographic designs to provide better chemical discriminators; (2) to create microencapsulation technologies for drug and cell delivery, and (3) to integrate and assemble cells into synthetic tissues and medical devices. The facilities will be used to spark collaborations and intellectual exchanges concerning cellular and subcellular bioengineering. Core facilities include:

• BioMEMS Fabrication: In this laboratory, lab-on-a-chip systems are bioarray systems that can be designed and fabricated. This facility will include equipment for microlithography, wet chemical etching, high-aspect-ratio dry etching, plasma-enhanced, chemical vapor deposition, and bioarray synthesis. The laboratory complements existing facilities for microfabrication at the Photonics Center shared Microfabrication Facility, including sputtering, reactive ion deposition/etching, evaporation, and lithography.
• Micro to Nano Imaging: The core facility will include both transmission and scanning electron microscopes for the examination of structures from molecular to optical wavelength dimensions. Confocal, quantitative fluorescence, and interference contrast microscopies will also be available for imaging at the microscale. Computation image processing, enhancement, and analysis will be integrated with all of the imaging systems.

Motor Unit Laboratory

Professor De Luca

Research in this lab investigates how the brain and spinal cord control the activation of muscle cells to produce muscle force.

• The Precision Decomposition Technique, which has received international recognition, was developed here. It is used to identify all electrical action potentials of several concurrently active muscle fibers from the complex myoelectric signal detected during a muscle contraction.
• Knowledge gained through research in this lab is expected to be transferred into the clinical environment to improve the ability of the neurologist to categorize and quantify neurological dysfunction.

Multi-Dimensional Signal Processing Laboratory

Professor Karl

Research in the general areas of multidimensional and multiresolution signal and image processing and estimation and geometric-based estimation. The development of efficient methods for the extraction of information from diverse data sources in the presence of uncertainty:

• Segmentation of magnetic resonance imagery of the human brain.
• Blood vessel diameter estimation.
• Solution of geophysical inverse problems, such as finding oil and analyzing the atmosphere.
• Automatic target detection and recognition, synthetic aperture radar, multi-spectral imaging.

Natural Sounds & Neural Coding Laboratory

Professor Sen

How do neurons in the brain encode complex natural sounds? What are the neural substrates of selectivity and discrimination of different categories of natural sounds? How are these substrates shaped by learning?

The Natural Sounds & Neural Coding Laboratory investigates these questions in the model system of the songbird. Electrophysiological techniques are used to record neural responses from hierarchical stages of auditory processing. Theoretical methods from areas such as statistical signal processing, systems theory, probability theory, information theory, and pattern recognition are applied to characterize how neurons in the brain encode natural sounds. Computational models are constructed to understand the processing of natural sounds both at the single neuron and the network level, to model neural selectivity and discrimination, and to explore the role of learning in shaping the neural code.

Organogenesis Laboratory

Professor Tien

Research applying techniques adopted from microlithography, self-assembly, microfluidics, and developmental biology to develop methods of assembling cells into ordered three-dimensional aggregates and use these aggregates as artificial tissue and as in vitro models of disease. Current work focuses on the fabrication of branched networks such as vasculature and pulmonary trees, and spatially complex organoids such as liver acini. This laboratory is a part of the Micro and Nano Biosystems Research facilities.

Orthopaedic & Developmental Biomechanics Laboratory

Professor Morgan

This laboratory uses experimental and computational methods to explore the relationships between structure, mechanical function, and biological function of tissues at multiple length scales. Principles of engineering mechanics, materials science, and cell and molecular biology are employed to investigate how the deformation and failure behavior of biological tissues depend on the tissue microstructure; and conversely, how differentiation and adaptation of tissues and cells are modulated by their local mechanical environment. Current research projects include quantification of functional loading conditions for trabecular bone, the effects of mechanical stimulation on bone and cartilage development, and the biomechanical consequences of damage in bone. The laboratory houses a complete wet lab as well as a separate computational facility for image processing and modeling.

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Respiratory & Physiological Systems Identification Laboratory

Professor Lutchen

Development of novel linear and nonlinear systems identification approaches for probing mechanisms associated with healthy and diseased physiological systems. Principal applications in respiratory physiology. Research interests include:

• Development of measurement, monitoring, and signal processing techniques that provide new insights on the structural airway and tissue conditions of the healthy and diseased lung
• Advanced application of mechanistic morphometrically and anatomically based models for interpreting the structure-function relations in the lung with emphasis on the mechanisms that compromise breathing capability and ventilation
• Advancing linear and nonlinear systems identification science, sensitivity analysis, and optimal experiment design to evaluate the efficacy of applying models to physiological data with emphasis on structural lung models and cardiovascular dynamics
• Understanding the origins of linear and nonlinear properties of physiological systems

Respiratory Research Laboratory

Professor Jackson

The Respiratory Research Laboratorys major research objectives are: using engineering and scientific principles to provide insight into the function of the respiratory system; developing methods of non-invasively quantifying changes in lung function resulting from disease or pharmacological interventions. Specific activities include:

• Measurement of the mechanical impedance of the respiratory and pulmonary systems. Measurement and analysis of the underlying microscopic and macroscopic properties of the pulmonary tissues and cells
• Development of instrumentation for measurements of pulmonary function in adults, infants, and patients in intensive care units
• Prediction of the systems behavior through detailed morphometrically based computer models that include the acoustic properties of the branching airways, non-linear visco- and plasto-elastic properties of the tissues
• Develop constitutive descriptions of the respiratory tissues based on their molecular, cellular, and systems structure and function
• Use of systems identification techniques to extract physiologically relevant parameters from complex mechanical impedance data
• Computer modeling of gas transport and mixing in the lung

Sensory Signal Processing Laboratory

Professor Teich

Work carried out in the Sensory Signal Processing Laboratory centers on the statistical behavior and signal processing of biological signals. Particular projects include:

• Encoding of acoustical and optical stimuli into sequences of action potentials at various locations in auditory and visual systems.
• Using the wavelet transform of the electrocardiogram to distinguish patients with heart disease from normal ones.
• The study of neural-based psychophysical models that consider ascending sensory pathways as amplifying neural networks.
• The development of a quantum-optical microscope that should be useful for carrying out high-resolution fluorescence studies in the neurosciences.

Structural BioInformatics Laboratory

Professor Vajda

The focus of this laboratory is the development and application of computational tools for the analysis of protein structure and protein-ligand interactions. Some of the particular problems we currently study are the evaluation of binding free energy in protein-protein complexes, development of efficient docking algorithms, computational solvent mapping of proteins using molecular probes to identify the most favorable binding positions, method development for fragment-based drug design, construction of an enzyme binding site database, and improving the prediction of protein active sites by homology modeling.

Visual Information Processing Laboratory

Professor Passaglia

The Visual Information Processing Lab investigates the computational strategies employed by the nervous system to process and encode a visual scene. Behavioral, electrophysiological, histological, theoretical, and computer modeling techniques are applied to animals with visual systems of varying complexity in order to gain a broad spectrum of insights into the neural basis of visual perception. The research efforts of the lab are primarily directed at the retinal network of the eye and its synaptic contacts in the brain. The aim is to understand how visual images are represented in the retinal output and how the representation changes as ocular diseases, such as glaucoma, inflict damage to the network.

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INSTRUCTIONAL LABORATORIES

Biomedical Data-Acquisition Laboratory

The Biomedical Data-Acquisition Lab supports the data acquisition and measurement activities of several courses. There are currently twelve stations, each outfitted with a Pentium PC containing A/D and D/A boards and software, an oscilloscope, a power supply, and various modules for making measurements and conducting experiments which allow students to record a variety of physiological important signals, including electrocardiograms, blood pressure, and electromyograms; special equipment is also provided for fluids and breathing studies.

This lab contains ten Pentium multimedia/CD-ROM PCs and software to support simulation, modeling, signal processing, and data analysis, linked via Ethernet to campus and worldwide networks.

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DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING LABORATORIES

INSTRUCTIONAL LABORATORIES

Circuits & Electronics Laboratory

Professor Nawab

The Circuits & Electronics Lab includes a full line of Hewlett-Packard bench top instruments linked by LabView software. This continually updated facility, which supports ECE courses in circuits and electronics, enables us to offer traditional lab experiments in circuits and electronics in a modern laboratory setting that emulates those found in industry. The lab also can support more advanced experiments in signals and systems, communications, electromagnetics, and photonics.

Control Systems Laboratory

Professors Castaon, Gevelber, and Saligrama

This laboratory houses four ECP Model 220 Industrial Emulator/Serve Trainers for studying control of practical systems.

Electronic Design Automation Laboratory

Professors Herbordt, Hubbard, Kincaid, Knepper, Roziner, and Taubin

In this lab, students design circuits and systems using state-of-the-art Electronic Design Automation facilities. Hardware includes 32 Sun Workstations and Xilinx development boards. Software tools include packages from Synopsis, Cadence, Xilinx, and Mode/Sim.

High-Performance Computing Laboratory

Professor Giles

The High-Performance Computing Laboratory at Boston University was created with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in order to support the development of undergraduate courses in parallel and high-performance computing. The courses offered at Boston University serve as a national model for computational science education. The lab features a network of multimedia graphics workstations linked at high speed to the supercomputers at the Center for Computational Science and the Scientific Computing & Visualization Lab.

High-Tech Tools & Toys Laboratory

Professor Ruane

HTTTL is the instructional laboratory associated with Boston Universitys NSF-funded Engineering Research Center for Subsurface Sensing & Imaging Systems (CenSSIS). The laboratory houses a variety of PC-based imaging camera systems, machine vision systems, and acoustic imaging systems. Software for imaging includes MATLAB, Image Processing Toolbox, Image Builder, Vision Foundry, ENVI, and LabVIEW. The HTTTL supports freshman EK130 modules in imaging and subsurface imaging, senior design capstone projects in imaging, and experiments in senior-level electives related to imaging.

Image & Signal Processing Laboratory

Professor Karl

This laboratory serves graduate instructional and research needs by providing advanced computational resources and associated software packages. Equipment includes a Sun Ultra450 computer server with 4 CPUs and 4 Gbytes of RAM, a Sun Ultra450 data server with over 200 gigabytes of RAID storage, three Sun Ultra10 workstations, and four dual CPU personal computers together with color and monochrome printers. This laboratory was developed with funds from the National Science Foundation.

Microprocessor & PC Laboratory

Professor Toffoli

This lab supports instruction in the programming and interfacing of microcomputers and digital controllers. Higher-level courses emphasize the design of systems using microprocessors. For networking studies, the laboratory contains four PC systems connected in a local loop with access to a larger local loop in the nearby microprocessor lab and to the campus area network. Networking software, various simulators, and analysis packages are available.

Photonics Education Laboratory
Professors Ruane, Teich, and nl

The Photonics Laboratory supports the introductory- and intermediate-level courses in the MS in Photonics program. Four stations each have a vibration-isolated optical table, lasers, fiber components and systems, electronic test equipment, and GBIP connected PCs for data logging and instrument control. Shared equipment exists for experiments and demonstrations in interferometry, spectrometry, diffraction, holography, acoustic and electro-optic modulation, and optical spectrum analysis. A secure annex room houses two additional isolated tables, electronics, and optical equipment to support thesis and senior design projects that require long-term setup of apparatus.

Radio Communication Laboratory

Professor Horenstein

The Radio Communication Laboratory supports lab experiments for courses in electrodynamics, waves and antennas, and wireless communication. Equipment includes a transmission line training station, benchtop receiving/transmitting antenna, radio receivers covering the radio spectrum from 1.6 MHz to 440 MHz, and two radio transmitters. Several antennas, including a four element-rotating beam, a long-wave trap dipole, and a two-meter vertically polarized directional antenna, are located on the roof of the Photonics Building. The Radio Communication Laboratory also serves as the home of the ECE-sponsored Boston University Amateur Radio Club.

Senior Project Laboratory

Professors Horenstein, Knepper, and Ruane

This lab is operated as a virtual company, serving real-world customers such as NASA, Analog Devices, Boston and Brookline Public Schools, social service agencies, and faculty and staff across the University. Each team has twenty-four-hour access to a permanent bench setup with a networked Pentium PC, benchtop GPIB-based HP test equipment, and software for schematic design, simulation, and PCB layout. Electronics and shop support is provided. Shared tools include high-speed scopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, E-prom, PLA and FPGA burners, and various compilers and cross-compilers for DSP and micro-controller development.

Software Engineering Laboratory

Professors Brackett and Skinner

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) supports courses and research on the economical design of reliable software for large-scale computer systems. The lab includes a number of networked PCs and workstations with development tools for the design, implementation, and testing of software systems.

Undergraduate Information Systems & Sciences Laboratory

Professors Carruthers and Nawab

The Undergraduate ISS Laboratory serves undergraduate ISS instructional needs by providing computational resources for classes in signal and image processing, and networking and communications. Equipment includes PCs, microphones, DSP boards, speakers, amplifiers, digital cameras, and software packages such as MATLAB and Hyperception.

Applied Electromagnetics Laboratory

Professor Horenstein

Practical problems are studied in electrostatics as well as low-frequency electric and magnetic fields. Current projects include transdermal injection of drug-laden nanoparticles via electrostatic pulse, electrostatic MEMS deformable mirrors for laser communication, field interactions with living cells, and the physics of surface discharges.

Biomedical Optics & Biophotonics Laboratory

Professor Bigio

The core theme of biomedical optics/photonics is minimally invasive optical diagnostics and therapeutics. This laboratory focuses on the development of optics-based technologies for clinical applications and biomedical research. Current research topic areas include:

• Advanced spectroscopic technologies for tissue diagnosis
• Noninvasive measurement of drug concentrations in tissue
• Interstitial laser thermotherapy and photodynamic therapy
• Computational methods for modeling optical transport in tissue
• Optical interferometry for imaging nerve activation

Broadband Wireless Communications Laboratory

Professor Carruthers

This laboratory supports research projects on the design, theory, and prototyping of broadband wireless communication systems. The major focus is on the use of infrared light as the transmission medium for high-data-rate indoor wireless local-area networks. The laboratory includes facilities for the fabrication and testing of experimental prototypes as well as computing resources for system design and analysis.

Computational Electronics Laboratory

Professor Bellotti

The Computational Electronics Laboratory (CEL) is equipped with state-of-the-art computing tools. The lab has two computer clusters, one XP1000 Alpha Cluster (8 CPUs) running True UNIX 64, and an AMD Athalon MP Cluster (13 CPUs) running Linux. The lab also operates a variety of high-performance PCs and printers. The Computational Electronics Group develops software to study semiconductor materials and to perform electronics and optoelectronics device simulation. Commercial simulation packages, such as ISE Genesis and Silvaco Virtual Wafer Fab, are currently employed.

This laboratory conducts research on the use of computational concepts from artificial intelligence (AI) to amplify the power of techniques from digital signal processing (DSP) and from statistical signal processing (SSP). This computational signal processing (CSP) research is conducted in the context of applications such as the analysis of auditory signals, the analysis of brain signals, and the analysis of patient activity signals.

Computer Architecture & Automated Design Laboratory

Professor Herbordt

Work focuses on experimental computer architecture, particularly on the use of emerging technologies in computationally intensive applications. Projects include developing design tools for application-specific coprocessors, designing MPP router switches, vision computers, and the application of configurable computing to bioinformatics.

Functorial Electromagnetic Analysis Laboratory

Professor Kotiuga

The Functorial Electromagnetic Analysis Lab considers the difficulties encountered in the finite element analysis of three-dimensional electromagnetic fields that cannot be anticipated through experience with two-dimensional simulations. The lab has focused its efforts in the development of Whitney form techniques, homology calculations, algorithms for total magnetic scalar potentials in multiply-connected regions, helicity functional techniques, and data structures based on semi-simplicial objects. Torsion invariants of complexes and rational homotopy theory are currently being exploited in the context of direct and inverse three-dimensional problems such as impedance tomography and magnetic field synthesis.

Imaging Science Laboratory (ISL)

Professors Mendillo and Semeter

Affiliated with the Boston University Center for Space Physics, the ISL applies state-of-the-art optical imaging technology to the study of the Earth, Moon, planets, and comets. Activities include equipment design and fabrication, field campaigns to observing sites worldwide, and digital signal processing.

Ionospheric Data Analysis Laboratory

Professor Oliver

The Ionospheric Data Analysis Laboratory houses graduate and undergraduate students analyzing data bases of ionospheric radar data collected since the 1960s to study patterns of behavior on all time scales: diurnal, seasonal, solar-cycle, and long-term global-change trends. Deductions of neutral-atmosphere behavior are central in this work. Numerical simulation of the ionosphere is used to test hypotheses drawn from the data analysis. The data-analysis and simulational work support the teaching of two courses, a freshman course on global change and a graduate course on ionospheric numerical simulation.

Laboratory of Networking & Information Systems

Professors Starobinski and Trachtenberg

This lab is involved in providing novel perspectives on modern networking issues, including scalability, heterogeneity, and performance. The lab is equipped with sophisticated hardware and software, and promotes research into the fields of network synchronization, mobile computing, Internet traffic engineering, distributed Web caching, and coding theoretic approaches to real-time information reconciliation.

Lightwave Technology Laboratory

Professor Morse

This lab is one of the few university laboratories capable of designing, fabricating, and characterizing silica optical fibers. The research activities of this laboratory focus on new processing techniques for optical fibers and planar waveguides, high-power optical fiber lasers, and a variety of optical fiber sensors. The components of this facility consist of a fabrication laboratory with three glass lathes including a new state-of-the-art Nextrom MCVD system, an optical laboratory with numerous pump lasers for fiber lasers, five isolation tables, and an 8m optical fiber draw tower, newly outfitted with Nextrom widing and control equipment. In addition, there is a CVD laboratory for studies of thin films.

Luminescence Laboratory

Professor Dal Negro

The research is focused on the steady-state optical spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures, bio-compatible materials, and plasmonic devices. Implemented optical techniques include: Broad-band photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy (PLE), emission lifetime measurements under steady state (CW) excitation, CW photoluminescence (PL), CW quantum efficiency.

Magnetic & Optical Devices Laboratory (MODL)

Professors Ruane and Semeter

Properties and applications of magnetic and magneto-optical materials are studied in the MODL using optical, electrical, and computational methods. A novel optical device, the Resonant Cavity Imaging Biosensor, for tag-free bio-sensing using resonant optical cavities and IR imaging has recently opened a new area of investigation for the MODL. The lab is building a mask-free optical synthesizer for bio-arrays (the Fabricator project). Other bio-sensing projects are using Wyco systems for imaging and detection. Collaborations with the Center for Space Physics are investigating miniature magnetometers based on Giant Magneto Impedance, and developing the motor controls for the Loss Cone Imager, which will fly on the USAF DSX satellite in 2009.

Multi-Dimensional Signal Processing (MDSP) Laboratory

Professor Karl

The MDSP Lab conducts research in the areas of multidimensional and multiresolution signal and image processing and estimation, and geometric-based estimation. The applications that motivate this research include, but are not limited to, problems arising in automatic target detection and recognition, geophysical inverse problems (such as finding oil and analyzing the atmosphere), and medical estimation problems (such as tomography and MRI). The general goal is to develop efficient methods for the extraction of information from diverse data sources in the presence of uncertainty. The labs approach is based on the development of statistical models for both observations, prior knowledge, and the subsequent use of these models for optimal or near-optimal processing.

Multimedia Communications Laboratory

Professor Little

The focus of this laboratory is the enabling technology for multimedia applications. Research includes investigation of distributed modes interaction among wireless computers; aggregation and clustering techniques for scaling large-scale Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) and Sensor Networks; communication systems for continuous media; and conceptual and physical database organizations. The laboratory is equipped with a high-performance simulation environment and a wireless test-bed for proof-of-concept prototype development.

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Optical Characterization & Nanophotonics Laboratory (OCN)

Professors Goldberg, Swan, and nl

Nanophotonics addresses a broad spectrum of optics on the nanometer scale covering technology and basic science. Compared to the behavior of isolated molecules or bulk materials, the behavior of nanostructures exhibit important physical properties not necessarily predictable from observations of either individual constituents or large ensembles. We develop and apply advanced optical characterization techniques to the study of solid-state and biological phenomena at the nanoscale. Current projects include development of high-resolution subsurface imaging techniques based on numerical aperture increasing lens (NAIL) for the study of semiconductor devices and circuits and spectroscopy of quantum dots, micro resonant Raman and emission spectroscopy of individual carbon nanotubes, biosensors based on microring resonators, and development of new nanoscale microscopy techniques utilizing interference of excitation as well as emission from fluorescent molecules. In addition to microscopy, optical resonance is nearly ubiquitous in our research projects including development of resonant cavity-enhanced photodetectors and imaging biosensors for DNA and protein arrays.

Quantum Imaging Laboratory

Professors Saleh, Sergienko, and Teich

Research in the Quantum Imaging Laboratory focuses on photonic imaging systems that make use of the special properties of nonclassical light. Experiments are conducted on nonlinear optical parametric down-conversion; quantum coherence; quantum imaging; quantum interferometry and microscopy; and quantum communications and cryptography.

Radio Communications & Plasma Research Laboratory

Professors Lee and Semeter

Field experiments are conducted in this lab using ground-based facilities and spacecraft-borne instruments to investigate radio-wave propagation and interactions with ionospheric plasmas, with applications to establishing artificial radio communication paths. Laboratory experiments with a large, toroidal plasma device are also conducted to study the microwave interactions with magneto plasmas, simulating and crosschecking the results obtained in the field experiments.

Reliable Computing Laboratory

Professors Karpovsky, Levitin, Roziner, and Taubin

Members of the Reliable Computing Laboratory conduct research on a broad variety of topics, including the design of computer chips; efficient hardware and diagnosis at the chip, board, and system levels; functional software testing; efficient signal processing algorithms; coding and decoding; fault-tolerant message routing for multiprocessor systems; and the design of reliable computer networks.

Ultrafast Nanostructure Optics Laboratory (UNO)

Professor Dal Negro

The research is focused on: a) ultrafast emission spectroscopy; b) optical gain relaxation dynamics; c) nonlinear optical characterization of semiconductor nanostructures, novel bio-compatible materials, photonic and plasmonic nano-devices. Implemented optical techniques include: picosecond fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy, time-resolved variable stripe length and pump-probe gain techniques, emission quantum efficiency and photon statistics, Z-scan nonlinear characterization, and second harmonic generation (SHG).

Visual Information Processing (VIP) Laboratory

Professor Konrad

The VIP Laboratory provides computational and visualization infrastructure for research in the area of visual information processing. The particular topics of interest are: manipulation, compression, transmission, and retrieval of visual information, whether in the form of still images, video sequences, or multimedia data. In addition to standard monoscopic (2-D) images, also stereoscopic and multiscopic (3-D) images are studied. The primary application of this research is in the next generation multimedia communications: life-like (3-D), efficient (low bit rate), reliable (error-resilient), and flexible (object-based). The VIP Laboratory is equipped with a network of state-of-the-art workstations to serve computational needs, while its visualization infrastructure includes 2-D and 3-D digital cameras and capture systems, as well as 3-D displays (shuttered and 9-view automultiscopic Synthagram).

Wide Bandgap Semiconductors Laboratory

Professor Moustakas

In this laboratory, we investigate the growth, optoelectronic properties, and device applications of III-Nitride semiconductors. The materials are grown by MBE, MOCVD, HVPE, and Gas cluster Ion-beam deposition (GCIB). The current focus is in the development of Optical Devices (Visible and UV-LEDs, UV-LDs, Optical Modulators, and Detectors), Electronic Devices (High Power Diodes, Transistors, and Thyristors), and Electromechanical Devices (SiC/III Nitride MEMS sensors). Materials physics issues are also addressed and the group collaborates closely with Professor Enrico Bellotti in the area of theoretical modeling, Professor Karl Ludwig (Physics) in the area of materials structure, Professor Kevin Smith (Physics) in the area of electronic structure, and Professor Roberto Paiella in the area of devices based on intersubband transitions.

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DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORIES

Advanced Materials Process Control Laboratory

Professor Gevelber

The primary research focus of this laboratory is to apply a systems-based approach to improving material processing capabilities. Research projects involve an integrated effort of physical modeling, sensor development, system design, and control development. Current projects include work on plasma deposition for protective coatings, crystal growth for electronic applications, and chemical vapor deposition. An experimental CVD system has been developed for implementing real-time control. A microbalance is used to measure growth rates in situ, and parallel DSP boards are used for data analysis and control. Related research includes development of analysis methods for identifying fundamental process constraints, as well as development of advanced sensors and observers to infer the process state.

Aerodynamic & Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

Professors Isaacson and Wroblewski

Different wind tunnels are available to students and faculty for research and instruction; these are low-speed and smoke tunnels. Using these tunnels, students perform experiments that illustrate the principles of fluid mechanics and aerodynamics. In addition, the laboratory is equipped with electronic and computer-assisted data acquisition systems for experimentation using transducers for measuring temperature, pressure, velocity, flow, displacement, acceleration, force, and strain.

Applied Acoustics & Ultrasonics Laboratory

Professors Carey, Cleveland, Holt, Porter, and Roy

The first focus of this laboratory is the propagation of sound in natural bodies of water. The facilities include a wet lab testing facility with computer-controlled instrumentation for acoustic propagation experiments. The lab also contains two workstations for computational modeling. In addition to lab and computational efforts, at-sea research projects are planned through collaborations with other regional facilities. The current research thrust is the study of sound propagation in the shallow water surf zone. Ongoing projects include the characterization of acoustic propagation through bubble clouds. An in situ device has been developed to measure the acoustic impedance of bubbly assemblages and (eventually) the sea bottom and a novel acoustic array has been developed and successfully towed behind an autonomous underwater vehicle in tests run in conjunction with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In addition, BU investigators are working in close collaboration with the Naval Surface Warfare Center (Panama City, FL) to develop a novel technique for buried mine detection using time reversal acoustics. Activities include scaled experiments in the BU lab as well as lake experiments at NSWC-PC. The second major facet of the lab is devoted to cutting-edge techniques for ultrasound imaging and for cavitation remediation studies related to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) facility. The Medical Imaging Testbed (MedBED) is one of four research and development laboratory facilities created as part of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems (CenSSIS). Facilities include a large water-filled, ultrasound scan tank (with precision positioners, supporting computers and acoustic-electronic instrumentation) for general purpose ultrasound research and two diagnostic ultrasound scanners for biomedical imaging research. The SNS work features an acoustic resonator designed for detecting free gas bubbles in flowing mercury and a laser cavitation system for generating reproducible bubble cloud collapse near boundaries under well controlled aqueous conditions. Cloud collapse diagnostics include high speed photography, acoustic emission measurements, and boundary surface vibrations measured using a laser Doppler vibrometer.

Biomedical Materials Research Laboratory

Professor Klapperich

This laboratory is focused on materials research activities in the broad areas of tissue engineering and biomedical device design. The laboratory is equipped for polymer and hydrogel synthesis, microfluidic device rapid prototyping, fabrication of tissue engineering scaffold materials, molecular analysis, and tissue culture. The laboratory houses a dynamic mechanical analyzer for time and temperature sensitive testing of gel and polymer macroscale mechanical properties. This facility is a fully functional laboratory for integrated mechanical, chemical, and biological testing of biomaterials. The laboratory is adjacent to the shared bio-micro/nanofabrication center. This cleanroom contains a mask aligner, AFM, DekTak Profilometer, e-beam evaporator, and a spin coater. The lab also maintains a Hysitron Triboscope Nanoindentation Instrument located in the Low Vibration Area of the Photonics Center. Laboratory projects include experiments and modeling of the contact problem for nanoscale probes on soft hydrated biomaterials, cell-biomaterial interactions in tissue engineering materials, and diagnostic microfluidic device design.

Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel

Professors Howe and Wroblewski

This facility is designed for fundamental turbulent transport studies in boundary layers. Specific projects include turbulent heat transport measurements in steady and unsteady junction boundary layers flows, near wall turbulent structure investigations, and development of advanced experimental techniques for fluid dynamics and heat transfer measurements. Experimental capabilities include two-component laser Doppler anemometry, multi-component hot-wire and cold-wire anemometry, liquid-crystal surface temperature measurements, and flow visualization utilizing laser light sheets with helium bubbles or smoke wire techniques.

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Laboratory

Professor Bethune

This laboratory is used by students for research projects and to supplement coursework involving design and analysis. It contains 30 personal computers and complementary printers and plotters. Available software includes AutoCAD 2000 and a variety of other software packages supporting undergraduate and graduate courses.

Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) Laboratory

Professor DeWinter

Using high-performance graphics workstations, the CAE Laboratory features a number of state-of-the-art software applications, including Pro/ENGINEER, MATLAB, and ALGOR. Serving a dual function as a teaching and research facility, the laboratory also provides students with hands-on experience in object-oriented programming using C++ and Eiffel, interactive computer graphics, and dynamic systems simulation, through the use of software packages QFD (Quality Function Deployment), SIMAN (Simulation for Manufacturing), and Flex-Work (for process design).

Computer-Integrated Design, Analysis, & Manufacturing (CIDAM) Laboratory

Professor Hazony

The CIDAM laboratory includes the CADLAB, where an expert system generator has been developed to support the integration of mechanical design, process planning, and fabrication. Also included is the CIMLAB, where a variety of machine tools support research and instruction in computer-integrated manufacturing.

Control in Nanoscale Systems

Professor Andersson

This facility is used to develop and apply new techniques for the study of dynamics in nanoscale systems. We use advanced systems and control methods to design and analyze algorithms which offer extremely high spatial and temporal resolution. Our target systems lie primarily in the realm of single molecules and molecular systems. The lab includes an optical microscope, a nanopositioning stage, a homebuilt confocal microscope, and laser excitation sources.

Green Manufacturing Laboratory

Professor Gopalan

Research in this laboratory focuses on environmentally benign power generation technologies such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). We explore the material science and electrochemistry of SOFCs using tools such as impedance spectroscopy, galvanostats, and potentiostats. Studies in this lab include measurement of the rates of charge transfer reactions that occur at the interfaces of solid state electrochemical devices, exploration of new materials and processes and modeling of the transport phenomena that occur in such devices. In this lab we also conduct research on ceramic gas separation membranes for the separation of industrially important gases such as oxygen and hydrogen. Ongoing projects conducted in close collaboration with industrial partners include the development of electrode and electrolyte materials for lower operating temperature SOFCs and the development of mixed ionic and electronic conducting materials for separation of hydrogen. The laboratory is equipped with a Perkin Elmer 263 A Potentiostat/Galvanostat used for characterization of electrochemical systems such as fuel cells, ceramic gas separation membranes, batteries, and sensors, a Horiba 910 particle size analyzer capable of obtaining particle size distributions of powders in the range of 0.01 microns to 1 mm using light scattering technique, a Solartron 1255 Frequency Response Analyzer (FRA) used for AC impedance spectroscopy, high temperature furnaces that can operate up to 1,700C, and a Spex 8000 mill capable of producing sub-micron particles for use in solid state electrodes by high-energy ball milling in a very short period of time.

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High-Temperature Chemical & Electrochemical Processing of Materials Laboratory

Professor Pal

The laboratory is completely equipped for studying most high-temperature chemical and electrochemical processes involving metals and ceramics. It includes several high-temperature furnaces, residual gas analyzers, CO/CO2 analyzers, potentiostats, impedance analyzers, state-of-the-art thermogravimetric Cahn Balance, high precision power supplies capable of operating under constant current/voltage mode, viscometers, state-of-the-art data acquisition systems, powder processing facility, and fuel cell test stations. The laboratory currently supports the following research programs: green electrochemical synthesis of high-energy content metals such as magnesium, titanium, calcium, and tantalum, novel materials processing for hydrogen storage, membrane technology for hydrogen production and separation, hybrid one-step processing of solid oxide fuel cells, and materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells.

High-Temperature Oxidation Laboratory

Professor Basu

The research focus of this laboratory is to investigate high-temperature oxidation behavior of materials by exposing metal and ceramic samples to corrosive atmospheres containing oxygen and sulfur at elevated temperatures up to 1,600C. The laboratory is equipped with a CAHN (thermogravi-metric) balance and a Mettler microbalance for weight gain measurements, as well as an apparatus for oxidation in O18 atmospheres, in order to determine oxidation mechanisms.

Hybrid and Multi-Agent Systems (HyMAS) Laboratory

Professor Belta

The focus of research in the Hybrid and Multi-Agent Systems (HyMAS) Laboratory is on formal methods for performance specification, analysis, and control of multi-agent systems. The application areas are mobile robotics, gene networks, and metabolic networks. Recent accomplishments include a computational framework for control of linear systems from LTL specifications, a hierarchical architecture for abstraction and control of robotic swarms, methodologies for predicting essentiality of metabolites and for computation of minimal nutrient and cut sets of bacteria.

Intelligent Mechatronics Laboratory

Professors Andersson, Baillieul, Dupont, and Wang

This laboratory is equipped with a wide variety of robotic devices including RF-networked sensor arrays, nearly forty mobile robots, surgical robots, and haptic interfaces. Additional resources include real-time control software, hand-held computing and communication devices, workstations, and a wide variety of sensors and actuators. This equipment is dedicated to research in limited-bandwidth control problems, symbolic control, cooperative systems and control, and image-guided minimally invasive surgery.

Microscopy Laboratory

Professor Basu

This laboratory is dedicated to the preparation of electron transparent specimens for observation in the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The specimens have to be reduced to a thickness on the order of 100 in order to study atomic arrangements by high resolution TEM. Equipment available for this purpose includes a GATAN dimpler and ion-mill, as well as precision grinding and polishing apparatus. The laboratory is also equipped with a darkroom capable of processing TEM negatives and prints.

Laser Acoustics Laboratory/ Photoacoustic & Photothermal Microscopy Laboratory

Professor Murray

These facilities are devoted to materials characterization using various laser-based inspection techniques including: laser-based ultrasonics, photothermal imaging, and acousto-optic imaging. The research group is developing approaches to excite and detect acoustic and thermal waves over micro- and nanometer-length scales. In addition, they study elastic wave propagation in a wide variety of materials systems including thin films and membranes, functionally graded materials, and biological tissue. Finally, optical techniques for exciting and detecting resonant vibrations in nano-mechanical structures are explored with applications including ultrasensitive biological and chemical sensors. The lab is rigged for a variety of optical and laser-based experiments and possesses a broad array of optical, acoustical, and vibrational instrumentation including several interferometers, optical fiber amplifiers, high-speed photodetectors and oscilloscopes, and pulsed laser sources.

Lithotripsy & Acoustic Levitation Laboratory

Professors Cleveland and Holt

This laboratory houses a number of shock wave sources for research into lithotripsy (breaking of kidney stones) and shock wave therapy (the treatment of musculoskeletal pain). There are two electro-hydraulic (spark-based source) lithotripters: one is a research device which allows control over various aspects of the shock wave and the second is a clinical device complete with fluoroscopic imaging. The lab is also home to two shock wave therapy (SWT) devices for research into the use of shock waves to treat soft-tissue injury. Acoustical and optical cavitation detection systems are used to sense bubble activity generated by shock waves. There is a high-pressure chamber with acoustically transparent windows that is equipped with acoustic and optical ports to allow for the study of shock wave interaction with stones under pressure. The laboratory also houses the Drop Physics Module, an acoustic levitation apparatus that flew on the Space Shuttle in the Space-lab module during the missions STS-50 (First United States Micro-gravity Laboratory, USML-1) and STS-73 (USML-2). The apparatus enabled the study of drop dynamics and surface rheology in micro-gravity. This apparatus is currently being refurbished and will be used for studies of the dynamic rheology of foams.

Laboratory for Microsystems Technology (LMST)

Professor Zhang

Laboratory for Microsystems Technology (LMST) is dedicated to interdisciplinary research in the design, fabrication, characterization, packaging, and operation of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS). We perform research on MEMS and NEMS. Specifically, we are interested in applying materials science, micro/nanomechanics, and micro/nanomanufacturing technologies to solve various engineering problems that are motivated by practical applications in MEMS/NEMS and emerging nanobiotechnologies. LMST is a cleanroom that provides resources for the design, fabrication, characterization, and testing of MEMS/NEMS devices. LMST is also a general biochemistry laboratory that has a strong collaboration with the medical schools.

Machining Laboratory Lab Supervisor, Sjostrom

This lab is used for demonstrations and projects in several manufacturing courses for carrying out milling, cutting, and drilling of different materials. This state-of-the-art shop is equipped with a HAAS VF2 Vertical Machining Center, 2 Sharp 1224 Vertical Machining Centers, an OKUMA LB 15 CNC 12 Station Turret Lathe, a FANUC TAPE CUT W0 Wire EDM, a HARDINGE HLV-H Toolroom Lathe, a Sharp SG618 Surface Grinder, 2 BRIDGEPORT vertical mills, a LEBLOND 16 engine lathe, 3 BRIDGEPORT Series I-CNC vertical mills w/Anilam Controls, a GROB vertical band saw, a CLAUSING-COLCHESTER 15 engine lathe, a KEARNEY TRECKER horizontal mill, a RUEMELIN sand blaster, and three new machining centers. The lab also has 2 computer stations using Virtual Gibbs Cad Cam, Delcams ArtCam, and Solid Works softwares.

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Materials Theory Group Laboratory

Professor Lin

The development of predictive modeling and simulation techniques are used to understand materials, electric, optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties. Our current research activities focus on 1) conductive polymer soliton theory: polymeric charge transport, metal-to-insulator transition, and high strain-rate artificial muscles; 2) glass transition theory: viscosity of super-cooled liquids, origin of fragility, strong-fragile-strong transition, glassy water, and protein folding; 3) solid dislocation theory: mechanical strength under ambient and extreme conditions, interacting line and point defects, and dislocation climb; and 4) interfacial charge transfer theory: heterogeneous catalysis and solid oxide fuel cells.

Multi-Scale Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory

Professor Zhang

This lab was founded in 2006 within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. The newly finished lab includes a fully equipped wet lab and computational facilities for characterization and modeling of the mechanical behavior of soft biological tissues and composites at multi-scale. The research in this lab integratesthe knowledge in biology, nonlinear solid mechanics, and finite element modeling, especially of complex materials and constitutive behavior. Through the research, we hope to provide insights on understanding the relationship between microscopic biological processes and changes in macroscopic tissue mechanics due to diseases, and help the development of diagnostic, therapeutic, and pharmaceutical techniques.

Nanoscale Mechanical Engineering Laboratory

Professor Ekinci

This facility is used to fabricate nanometer-scale semiconductor mechanical devices using electron beam lithography, plasma, and wet etching techniques. After fabrication, various state-of-the-art characterization techniques are employed to study the physical processes dominant in these nanomechanical devices. Among the fundamental phenomena studied are dissipation, fluctuations, and surface effects at the nanometer length scales. The practical aspects of this research involve the design and fabrication of ultra-high-speed nanomechanical sensors and development of surface nano-engineering techniques for improved device characteristics. More information can be found at NEMS Home: Ekinci Group.

Nonlinear & Biomedical Acoustics Laboratory

Professors Cleveland, Holt, Roy, and Porter

This laboratory is equipped for wet and dry experiments supporting a broad spectrum of ultrasound research, including nonlinear acoustics, bubble-related physical and underwater acoustics, therapeutic ultrasound, acoustic cavitation, and transduction. There are two fully instrumented ultrasonic scan tanks with computer-controlled positioners. One is for research into high-intensity-focused ultrasound for surgery and the other contains a peizo-electric array with 170 elements capable of generating intense shock waves for research in lithotripsy. The lab has a scanning acoustic microscope (SAM) which can employ ultrasound pulses with frequencies up to 150 MHz for imaging samples. The lab is well stocked with general-purpose test and measurement equipment such as function generators, multi-meters, power amplifiers, preamps, and analog and digital oscilloscopes. The lab is equipped with a full-size fume hood, a water purification system, and various instruments for fluid and biomaterial control, processing, and measurement.

Orthopaedic & Developmental Biomechanics Laboratory

Professor Morgan

This laboratory uses experimental and computational methods to explore the relationships between structure and mechanical function of biological tissues at multiple length scales. Current research projects include quantification of physiological loading conditions, 3-D visualization and prediction of spine fractures, and the effects of mechanical stimulation on joint and articular cartilage development. The laboratory houses a biaxial (axial-torsional) servohydraulic materials testing system with a variety of extensometers and load cells, a miniature torsional testing system, two micro-computed tomography systems, a multi-channel signal conditional and amplification system, an X-ray cabinet, and various cutting tools including a sledge microtome and low-speed wafering saw. Additional space is dedicated to cell and tissue culture. Computational facilities include PC workstations equipped with software for image processing, finite element analysis, and general computing.

Physical & Optical Acoustics Laboratory
Professors

Holt, Murray, and Roy

This laboratory is devoted to experiments probing science and engineering aspects of acoustic levitation, bubble dynamics and sonoluminescence, acousto-optic sensing and imaging, droplet dynamics, and the acoustics and rheology of foam. The lab houses computer-based data acquisition systems interfaced to electronic instrumentation packages generally designed for the generation, amplification, and detection of ultrasonic and interfacial waves. Several acoustic levitation devices have been fabricated for non-contact isolation/excitation of bubbles in water and drops in air. Also employed are systems for active acoustic scattering, laser-scattering systems for monitoring bubble and drop motion, and digital imaging systems. Most recently, an apparatus is under development that exploits the nonlinear interaction of diffuse laser light and sound for generating high-resolution images of the optical properties of tissues.

Powder Metallurgy & X-ray Laboratory

Professor Sarin

The powder processing laboratory is equipped to batch, process, and densify a wide variety of materials. Particle size reduction and uniform mixing are essential in any powder preparation. In addition to a 500cc capacity attritor mill for processing small powder batches, an extensive selection of ball mill sizes and a variety of milling media, including silicon nitride and titanium carbide, are available. Dies and presses for powder compaction and component development have been established. Consolidation and sintering capabilities include vacuum, over pressure, and hot pressing up to 25,000 KgF and temperatures in excess of 2,400C. These capabilities make the powder processing laboratory uniquely equipped for developing high temperature monolithic and composite materials. The laboratory is also equipped with a Bruker D8 Focus diffractometer with independent theta and two theta axis with copper radiation. This unit extends the laboratorys capability to perform single crystal back reflection Laue studies for crystal orientation. The standard detector is the scintillation counter, with high dynamic range and low internal background. In addition, several Debye Scherrer powder cameras are also available. This unit is equipped with all necessary components for qualitative or quantitative phase analysis, crystallite size determination, and structure determination and refinement.

Precision Engineering Research Laboratory

Professor Bifano

The Precision Engineering Research Laboratory at Boston University is home to an active program in Micro-electromechanical Systems (MEMS) research. In MEMS, the tools that emerged from the semiconductor manufacturing revolution are employed to design and build electronic, mechanical, and optical devices whose dimensions are measured in nanometers and micrometers. Like their microelectronic counterparts, MEMS devices can be made extremely small and in great numbers economically. The research program at PERL focuses on Optical MEMS systemselectromechanical devices to improve the performance of imaging and communication systems. One of the more successful outcomes of this research has been the design, fabrication, and testing of a new class of micromirror array that can be used to improve the resolution of microscopes, telescopes, and biomedical instruments. Two specific types of these devices, developed at the UniversityMEMS deformable mirrors and MEMS spatial light modulatorshave been incorporated into test-beds worldwide to exploit this new technology. Our work on optical MEMS includes design, manufacturing, and testing of these devices. PERL is housed in the Photonics Center, where world-class facilities for modeling, producing, and measuring optical MEMS devices are available.

Production Control of Manufacturing Systems (PCMS) Laboratory

Professors Caramanis, Hu, Paschalidis, Perkins, and Vakili

The PCMS Laboratory is dedicated to research on the control and design of manufacturing systems. Algorithmic development for dynamic scheduling, stability and performance evaluation, design, and planning of production systems is a major research activity. Development of a framework that facilitates concurrent manufacturing through cooperation of independent decision-making entities in a manufacturing facility is an equally important research goal of the PCMS Laboratory. This effort includes theoretical research on complex system decomposition and coordination, as well as applied work on software architectures and interfaces. Decision-making and analysis activities of interest range from material requirements and capacity planning, to performance evaluation, scheduling, and shop floor tracking. Systems engineering and control theory are relied upon to leverage classical operations research techniques and to provide flexible real-time decision-making capabilities required in a modern manufacturing environment. Resources include a mixed platform of PCs and workstations available in the laboratory, as well as campus-wide computational facilities. The PCMS Laboratory is the home of graduate students primarily, but not exclusively, at the doctoral level and has established collaborative projects with a number of industrial sites.

Surface Modification Laboratory

Professor Sarin

This unique state-of-the-art university research laboratory has the capability of R&D activities in both Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques. It contains two experimental and two pilot scale CVD units capable of producing a wide range of tough, chemically resistant coatings for various applications. Two multiple-range RF sputtering units capable of producing monolithic, multilayered, and composite coatings are available for coating development by PVD. Research and development of diamond coatings is focused on the combustion flame process. Several combustion flame setups have been developed and fabricated to produce diamond coatings of various morphologies on a wide range of materials. Unique equipment and techniques have been developed to evaluate the mechanical, chemical, and structural properties of coatings, such as a microscratch tester to evaluate adherence.

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RESEARCH CENTERS

Research at the College has become so interdisciplinary that research centers are being proposed to administratively manage the diverse interests and faculty. Three more centers, namely Materials Technology, Nanotechnology, and the Center for the Synthesis & Processing of Novel Materials & Devices, are in various stages of formation.

The Center for Advanced Biotechnology (CAB)

Codirectors, Professors Cantor, Collins, and Frank-Kamenetskii

This center spans the Charles River and Medical School campuses and has a strong research and development component with emphasis on technology transfer, either through existing companies or through new ventures. The center focuses on developing new methodologies and new biological materials. Among these new materials are genes involved in human behavior and particular human diseases such as schizophrenia and breast cancer, and modified segments of DNA that are potentially suitable as new gene-specific drugs. Among new methodologies are techniques for much more rapid DNA sequencing; improved techniques for faster genetic and physical mapping; methods for controlling the fate of environmentally released microorganisms; and much more sensitive methods for DNA and antigen detection, potentially useful in new diagnostic tests.

Center for Advanced Genomic Technology (CAGT)

Director, Professor DeLisi

Biological cells have developed methods for transmission and control of information, for memory and learning, and for error correction and adaptation, which were optimized over hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Recent developments in high throughput experimental and computational biology have placed us, for the first time, in a position to understand these processes and to use them in clinical medicine and engineering in ways that, only a generation ago, could barely be glimpsed. CAGT is positioned to play an important role in such progress through new forms of collaboration and training that will provide the intellectual foundation required for breakthrough technologies in computation, information handling, and engineering.

Center for BioDynamics

Codirectors, Professors Collins, Kopell

The Center for BioDynamics (CBD) involves faculty from the Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Psychology, and Mechanical Engineering. Its mission is to: (1) train undergraduates, graduates, and postdoctoral fellows in leading techniques from dynamical systems theory and its applications to biology and engineering; (2) develop and implement techniques and concepts from dynamical systems theory to gain insight into the functioning of physiological systems; (3) translate basic-science developments in dynamical physiology into improved clinical devices and techniques; (4) use principles from dynamical systems theory to develop improved engineering devices; (5) be a home within the University for the development and sharing of dynamical systems techniques for use in diverse applications.

Biomolecular Engineering Research Center (BMERC)

Codirectors, Professors Smith and Vajda

The Biomolecular Engineering Research Center (BMERC) has two major research objectives: to develop statistical and other computational approaches that will detect syntactic and semantic patterns in DNA, RNA, and protein sequences; and to use statistical/computational approaches to identify structure, function, and regulation in these molecules. This identification has led to formulation and testing of major hypotheses in the areas of molecular evolution, gene regulation, developmental genetics, and protein structure/function relationships. In meeting these objectives, the BMERC is continually developing new computer-assisted analytical approaches that address basic problems in molecular biology such as those noted above.

Center for Computational Science

Director, Professor Rebbi

The CCS at Boston University was chartered in 1989 as an interdisciplinary focal point for computational science research and education. In collaboration with Information Technologys Scientific Computing & Visualization Group (SCV), CCS has made leading-edge computational resources available to researchers and students on a University-wide basis since the installation of its first massively parallel supercomputer in 1988. The recent installation of the SGI/Cray Origin2000 represents the fourth-generation parallel supercomputing technology at the University. Facilities also include an SGI Power Challenge Array, advanced graphics workstations, virtual reality stations, and very high speed networking.

The Universitys support of computational research has been extended to institutions throughout New England by means of the NSF-funded MARINER project, a collaboration between CCS and SCV. MARINER offers education and training programs, access to stateof-the-art computing facilities, and opportunities for pilot projects, Internet connectivity, and industrial partnerships.

The center is a cooperative venture in which associated members come from a variety of disciplines in the academic and industrial communities to develop and take advantage of leading-edge computer and communications technologies. Under the auspices of MARINER, CCS takes its place as a leader in developing computational applications in collaboration with regional schools and companies.

Building on MARINER, the University is extending its programs on a national scale as a partner in the National Computational Science Alliance, one of two national Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure supported by the NSF.

Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation

Professor Sharon, Director; Professor Ivanov

The Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI), in collaboration with Boston University, provides manufacturing solutions to industries in the United States and abroad. The center is located with the Mechanical Engineering Department on campus and employs a staff of approximately 40 people comprised of full-time engineers and scientists, students, and administrative personnel. Fraunhofer works closely with the University to streamline the process of scaling up academic research into real working technologies for industry, bridging the gap between academic research and industrial needs. Activities range from concept development and evaluation through prototyping and factory floor implementation, all on an industrial timetable.

CMIs core competence and focus is in the development of next-generation, high-precision automation systems. The following market segments are primarily targeted, although the center is involved in other high-precision labor intensive applications: Optoelectronics, Biotechnology/Biomedical, Specialty semiconductor, and Microsystems.

Fraunhofers activities are supported by a 17,000-square-foot facility. Located with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at 15 Saint Marys Street, it offers a full machine development laboratory for high-precision automation, advanced metrology, rapid prototyping, a class 1000 clean room, and a variety of CAD/CAM packages. Additionally, in support of our fabrication needs, the center has an advanced machine shop comprising three- and five-axis milling and turning machines, a high-precision CNC lathe, an ultra-precision diamond machining center, and a variety of CNC controllers.

Hearing Research Center

Director, Professor Colburn

The Boston University Hearing Research Center, formed in 1995, includes 20 faculty members from six departments in four Boston University schools and colleges. The goals of the center are the development and dissemination of knowledge relevant to the nations auditory health; specifically, faculty in the center conduct basic and applied hearing research and develop research training and educational programs, primarily for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Research activities in the center combine theoretical and experimental studies of auditory processing to understand hearing, including psychophysical and physiological observations of both normal and impaired auditory systems. Our studies span mechanics, physiology, molecular biology, anatomy, and psychophysics. Empirical studies include projects in physical acoustics, otoacoustic emissions, cochlear mechanics and potentials, electrophysiology and anatomy of auditory sensory cells and neurons, functional interactions of neurons as seen through multiunit recordings, and auditory evoked potentials, as well as studies of hearing abilities of human listeners with and without hearing impairments. Theoretical studies, which are closely coupled to the empirical investigations, include mathematical models of cochlear mechanics, single neurons, networks of neurons, and human performance.

Center for Information & Systems Engineering

Codirectors, Professors Castan and Paschalidis

The Center for Information & Systems Engineering (CISE) provides a home across departments for faculty and students interested in information and systems engineering methodologies and their relevance to application domains encompassing the analysis, design, and management of complex systems. Interdisciplinary methodologies include optimization methods, information theory, control theory, applied probability and statistics, simulation and modeling, and others.

Currently, focal application domains of affiliated faculty include automation, robotics and control; communication, networking and information systems; production, service and supply chain management; and signal and image processing. There are 20 affiliated faculty representing the College of Engineering (the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering), the College of Arts & Sciences (departments of Mathematics & Statistics, and Computer Science), and the School of Management (department of Operations & Technology Management).

In the College of Engineering, the PhD in Systems Engineering is available to students interested in focusing their research on interdisciplinary work emphasized within CISE. Graduate students with a strong research interest in optimization, information, decision, and control sciences may select to pursue the PhD in systems engineering by gaining admission into an individual College of Engineering department. These students have the opportunity to pursue research topics sponsored, amongst others, by CISE affiliated faculty. CISE also invites prominent academic and industrial researchers to present their work to the university audience at a weekly seminar.

CISE outreach to industry takes on many shapes and sizes. For example, with the Department of Mechanical Engineering, CISE has co-sponsored Emerging Technologies (ET) and Best Practices Seminars drawing 100150 industry practitioners. Industry collaborations (with Mitsubishi Research Laboratories, Draper Laboratory and Lincoln Laboratory, amongst others) have provided graduate student support. Center affiliated faculty also work with industry on specific research projects.

Since its initiation in 2002, CISE has created a community with active participation from faculty and students across the University who speak the same technical language while investigating a diverse set of applications. As a result, Boston University offers an enhanced coordinated core of graduate systems courses and research opportunities. Access to the breadth of interdisciplinary research in information and systems engineering is available through the CISE web-based Publications Data Base. For more information, please visit www.bu.edu/systems.

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Center for Memory & Brain (CMB)

Director, Professor Eichenbaum
Associate Director, Professor White

Over the last twenty years, considerable data on both the cognitive and biological aspects of memory have been generated. In addition, major new technologies have emerged that are being employed to reach a new level of discoveries about the functional circuitry of the brain. The purpose of the CMB is to develop a major collaborative research program whose central aim is to combine multiple approaches toward a full understanding of how the brain mediates memory. A fundamental feature of the CMB is that the entire proposed core faculty has this aim as a major research objective. A central feature of the CMB is its focus on three state-of-the-art approaches and technologies to the neurobiology of memory, each shared by subsets of the core faculty. The three approaches represent a continuity of three levels of analysis of memory: functional neuroanatomy; information coding by neuronal populations; and plasticity and self-organized activity in microcircuitry.

Center for Nanoscience & Nanobiotechnology (CNN)

Director, Professor GoldbergAssociate Directors, Professors nl and Wong

Boston University formed the Center for Nanoscience & Nanobiotechnology (CNN) to advance academic and technological research and development by extending discoveries in nanoscale materials and platforms toward applications that examine and seek to understand and manipulate biological systems. The center serves as a hub for nanoscience researchers from the Charles River and Medical Campuses and builds interdisciplinary research and training. The center connects scientists and engineers from disparate disciplines with each other in seminars, meetings, joint visitor programs, interdisciplinary courses, industrial collaborations, and seeded projects.

CNN has three core functions: First, to develop interdisciplinary research and education in nanoscience and nanobiotechnology; second, to develop and run an industrial liaison program that partners researchers with external companies for mutual benefit; and third, to connect researchers to resources for technological commercialization. CNN and affiliated faculty are also involved in outreach activities, organizing hands-on activities, discussions, and panels around nanoscience for grade school students and working with local organizations and museums.

NeuroMuscular Research Center

Director, Professor De Luca

The NeuroMuscular Research Center (NMRC) was established as an independent unit at Boston University in October 1984. The NMRC charter focuses on advancing and disseminating knowledge in the fields of biomedical engineering, neuroscience, rehabilitation medicine, and related fields by the application of principles of natural sciences, life sciences, and mathematics. The mission of the NMRC is focused on increasing our knowledge of motor control and improving the quality of health care for neuromuscularly impaired patients. The NMRC is organized into six laboratories:

• Design Laboratories, L. Donald Gilmore, Lab Supervisor
• Electrophysiology Laboratory, Serge H. Roy, Lab Supervisor
• Inquiry Analysis & Prevention Lab, Lars I. E. Oddsson, Lab Supervisor
• Motor Control Laboratory, Gerald Gottlieb, Lab Supervisor
• Motor Unit Laboratory, Carlo J. De Luca, Lab Supervisor
• Muscle Fatigue Laboratory, Serge H. Roy, Lab Supervisor

Each laboratory is supervised by a Boston University faculty member with a scientific staff composed of research associates, research engineers, research assistants, and graduate students.

The NMRC brings together faculty, students, and staff from the College of Engineering, the medical school, and Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. This interdisciplinary mingling provides an environment where novel concepts germinate. The center regularly attracts researchers from around the world.

Photonics Center

Director, Professor Bifano

To help industry bridge the gap between basic research and practical application, Boston University launched the Photonics Center in 1994 with $29 million in seed funding from the federal government. The center is now forging true business partnerships in which companies draw on the Universitys exceptional expertise and resources in engineering, science, medicine, and management to build actual product prototypes and spawn a growing stream of new companies.

The Photonics Center at Boston University is a bold new model for university-industry collaboration. It has been established to work directly with investors and industrial partners to turn emerging concepts in photonics technology into commercial products. The center is staffed and equipped to help industry partners reduce the technical and financial risk involved in developing new ideas, refining them in the laboratory, building working prototypes, and starting up companies. To date the center has forged joint ventures with nearly a dozen companies to develop new products in data storage, environmental monitoring, opto-electronics, and biotechnology.

In 1997, the University completed the nine-story, 235,000 square-foot Photonics Building to house this ambitious initiative. The $80 million facility includes a full complement of state-of-the-art laboratories as well as meeting rooms, lecture halls, and an entire floor devoted to incubator space for start-up companies that complements its existing incubator at 1106 Commonwealth Avenue. Faculty affiliated with the center have in-depth expertise in all aspects of photonics technology, including the core areas of opto-electronics, photonic materials, data storage, imaging systems, medical applications, and sensors. Resources available to industry partners, government, faculty, and students through the Photonics Center support development and testing of ideas and products. These resources include several research and development laboratories: Scanning Infrared Near-Field Microscopy Laboratory, Optoelectronic Device Characterization Laboratory, Femtosecond Laser Facility, Photochemical Processes Laboratory, Photonic Systems Engineering Laboratory, Liquid Crystal Display Laboratory, Quantum Imaging Laboratory, Precision Optics Laboratory, Optoelectronic Materials Laboratory, Precision Measurement Laboratory, Optoelectronic Processing Facility, Laser Measurement & Fiber Optic Sensors Laboratory, Magnetic & Optical Devices Laboratory, Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy Laboratory, Picosecond Spectroscopy Laboratory, and the Advanced Electronic Materials & Devices Processing Research Laboratory.

Center for Space Physics

Director, Professor Chakrabarti

The Center for Space Physics provides a focus for research and graduate training in space physics. It is a multidisciplinary center within the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences that includes faculty from the College of Engineering and the College of Arts & Sciences.

The mission of the center is to promote and foster space physics research and to provide a central base for that research and for the teaching of space physics, especially at the graduate level. The center seeks to fulfill this mission by creating an intellectual atmosphere conducive to research and to the exchange and exploration of new ideas. The center organizes a seminar series in space physics as well as internal research discussion groups, and often hosts visits of scholars from the United States and abroad. Although the center itself offers no degree program, graduate education is a major component of center activities. Graduate students from programs in Astronomy, Applied Physics, and Engineering conduct their thesis research at the center. The center provides a formal link between research groups in the Colleges of Engineering and Arts & Sciences, allowing them to co-locate research students and post-doctoral associates to allow greater interaction to everyones benefit. The center also provides administrative support for research projects, particularly in the areas of grant management and proposal development.

Center for Subsurface Sensing & Imaging Systems (CenSSIS)

Deputy Director, Professor Saleh

The Center for Subsurface Sensing & Imaging Systems (CenSSIS) is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC) established in 2000. It seeks to revolutionize the ability to detect and image objects that lie underground or underwater, or are embedded within cells, inside the human body, or within manmade structures. CenSSIS is a collaborative effort of four academic institutions: Northeastern University, Boston University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagez; and four strategic affiliates: Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Together, the CenSSIS partnership works with industrial partners who provide their insight into research challenges.

The centers primary focus is on detecting, locating, and identifying objects obscured beneath the covering media, such as underground plumes, tumors under the skin, or developmental defects in an embryo. Utilizing electromagnetic, photonic, or acoustic probes, CenSSIS will engage biomedical and environmental problems, developing techniques for sensing subsurface conditions. Projects integrate new methods of subsurface sensing and modeling, physics-based signal processing and image-understanding algorithms, and image and data information management methods. Research topics being addressed include: humanitarian de-mining, multilayer hyperspectral oceanography, 3-D subretinal visualization, nonlinear ultrasound medical imaging, subcellular biological imaging, electrical impedance tomography, acoustic diffraction tomography, and multi-sensor civil infrastructure assessment.

Overall, the CenSSIS program is a vehicle enabling substantial leverage of industrial investments because of the substantial level of funding available for basic research. In addition to research, the center has established programs for education, industry collaboration, and technology transfer.

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COMPUTER FACILITIES

Students and faculty in the College of Engineering have access to a variety of computing facilities within the College and via central resources offered by the Office of Information Technology. Public facilities within the College include both UNIX and VMS timesharing systems as well as a cluster of graphics workstations. Software available on these systems includes popular word processors and text formatters, a C++ development environment, and packages devoted to digital signal processing, control systems and mathematical manipulation, and graphics visualization. In addition to the public machines, there is a vast array of workstations and computer laboratories available through research associations with departments and individual faculty members. Computer laboratory concentrations include parallel computing, VLSI design, microcomputer simulation and instruction, data acquisition, computer-aided design (CAD), and computer-aided manufacture (CAM).

Students at Boston University have access to a wide variety of computing resources for communication, coursework, instruction, and research. The Information Technology office provides general-access facilities for the entire University community, including public computing clusters equipped with Windows-based personal computing workstations and laser printers; a shared-access UNIX cluster and central mail server, called ACS; the Boston University Campus Network, a high-speed network which interconnects computing resources and links them to the Internet; a student Web server; personal computing laboratories in many residences; training facilities and help desks; the Personal Computing Support Center; University Computers, a computer store which sells and services computer hardware and offers a variety of computer software; and a sophisticated scientific computing and visualization laboratory in support of research and education in computational science and engineering, scientific visualization, computer graphics, and other disciplines which have high-performance computing requirements. In addition, ITs Telecommunications office operates a 20,000-line telecommunications system, providing local, long distance, and voice messaging services to students, faculty, and staff.

The Information Technology office manages the Boston University Campus Network, which employs the latest technology to route communications among computing systems throughout campus. Thousands of ports in residence rooms, libraries, offices, and other locations around campus support communications rates up to 100 million bits per second. More than a thousand dial-in modems provide students and faculty with remote access to the Campus Network at speeds comparable to those offered by commercial Internet Service Providers. The Campus Network provides direct connections to the Internet, providing students and faculty with electronic access to people and facilities throughout the world.

Boston University is a member of the Internet2 project and a founding member of the Northern Crossroads (NoX)national and regional organizations engaged in the development of next-generation applications to meet emerging requirements for technology in research and education. The NoX operates a high-performance communications exchange through which the University is connected to the Internet2 network, providing us with very high-speed access to hundreds of institutions connected to advanced networks worldwide.

Information Technologys Consulting Services department provides consulting support in all areas of computing. Consulting Services maintains a help desk at the public cluster located in the basement of 111 Cummington Street. Information Technology staff present a comprehensive series of free training sessions each semester. Topics range from general getting started sessions for the computing novice to in-depth sessions on specific application software packages.

Two of Information Technologys departments, the Personal Computing Support Center (PCSC) and University Computers, provide a variety of services for students who own personal computers. The PCSC, dedicated to helping students use their Windows-based and Macintosh computers effectively, provides consulting, hands-on training for many popular applications, technical support, file recovery, text and graphics scanning, and file translation. Reference and software evaluation libraries are also maintained by the PCSC.

University Computers sells computer hardware and software products, supplies, and accessories. University Computers factory-authorized service department offers repair and upgrade services. University Computers carries equipment from most major hardware vendors and offers hundreds of software programs, most priced to reflect deep educational discounts.

ACS and the Campus Network are available twenty-four hours a day; schedules of other facilities vary. Direct any questions regarding computing services to the Information Technology office. The main office, at 111 Cummington Street, is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; it@bu.edu; 617-353-2780. The PCSC is open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 8p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; pcsc@bu.edu; 617-353-7272. Summer, intersession, and holiday hours may vary. University Computers is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.; closed Sunday; univcomp@bu.edu; 617-353-1800.

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Published by Trustees of Boston University
One Silber Way
Boston, MA 02215

26 September 2008
Boston University
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