College of Engineering and Engineering Technology Faculty Projects


Project/Lab Description Faculty URE Department  Funded By
Reforming Power Semiconductor Education Organizing a conference session to discuss development and delivery of an integrated power electronics curriculum, from components to systems. Ibrahim Abdel-Motaleb, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering The National Science Foundation
Design and Testing a Microchip for Testing Liquid Cooling of 3D ICs Designing a microchip that includes arrays of heaters and temperature sensors to measure chip temperature. Ibrahim Abdel-Motaleb, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering Tezzaron Semiconductor Corp.
Device Parameter Extraction and Modeling Supporting activities in Argonne National Laboratory's Process Technology Research Section. Ibrahim Abdel-Motaleb, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering Argonne National Laboratory
Using Microwave Imaging for Bone Densitometry Investigating the feasibility of using microwave imaging for bone density scans. Veysel Demir, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering Polar Technology Development Centre Ind. Trade Inc.
Design of a Handheld RFID Reader Developing an RFID reader for handheld devices that can also be used for UHF RFID applications. Veysel Demir, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering QEMTEK Communications and Consulting Ltd.
High-Current Electron Sources for Superconducting Radiofrequency Injectors Devising an integrated high-current electron source that can be mounted in close proximity to a superconducting radiofrequency resonator, possibly leading to the development of a compact MW-class electron accelerator. Venumadhav Korampally, Ph.D., Iman Salehinia, Ph.D.,
Philippe Piot
No Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering N/A
Development of Ultra-Cold Quantum-Degenerate Relativistic Electron Beams for Research and Application Progressing theoretical understanding and experimental development of "ultra-cold" relativistic electron beams at the fundamental limit via field emission from structured nanomaterials and subsequent efficient acceleration. Venumadhav Korampally, Ph.D.,
Swapan Chattopadhyay, Ph.D.
No Electrical Engineering The National Science Foundation
Hearing Impairment Prevention and Monitoring System for Incubator Newborns Developing technology to create a quiet environment for newborns in incubators and developing safe and non-intrusive monitoring embedded infant incubator ANC systems. Lichuan Liu, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering The Gerber Foundation
Master Research Agreement With Simmons Bedding This nonfinancial agreement governs research projects conducted by NIU faculty and funded by Simmons Bedding Co. Lichuan Liu, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering Simmons Bedding Co.
Wireless Communication Integrated Active Noise Reduction System Using an active noise reduction approach to significantly reduce the noise level inside infant incubators. Lichuan Liu, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering Invictus Medical Inc.
DO-160 Pin Injection Simulation Improving client's capability to perform circuit design for induced lightning transient for pin injection susceptibility. Donald Zinger, Ph.D. No Electrical Engineering UTC Aerospace Systems
Universal Environment for Delivering Remote Laboratories in STEM Disciplines Designing and developing a universal Internet-based remote laboratory environment. Abul Azad, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology The National Science Foundation
Internet Accessible Remote Laboratories With Collaborative Design Synergistically blending Internet technology, software, computer interface, graphical user interface, pedagogical design, and assessment and evaluation schemes to offer a laboratory course in an undergraduate electrical engineering technology program. Abul Azad, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology The National Science Foundation
Interactive Virtual Laboratory: Using Renewable Energy Experiments to Enhance Student Engagement Develop an interactive virtual laboratory for a power generation system, create innovative teaching materials using the virtual laboratory and a prototype platform and engage college students in mentoring high school students on renewable energy technologies. Liping Guo, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology The National Science Foundation
Design and Development of Hands-On Learning Experiences in Renewable Energy Increasing the number of college graduates with knowledge and skills in renewable energy and power systems. Liping Guo, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation
Design and Development of an Enabling Teaching Tool for Renewable Energy Expanding the renewable energy component in the current engineering technology curriculum. Liping Guo, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology P&G Foundation
Renewable Energy Technology Across the Engineering Technology Curriculum Increasing the number of college graduates entering the workforce with knowledge and skills in renewable energy. Liping Guo, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology The National Science Foundation
Developing Matlab Models of Digital Power Converters Developing Matlab models of digital power converters with various magnetic loads, designing digital regulators and evaluating the performance of the converters under static and dynamic conditions. Liping Guo, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology Argonne National Laboratory
Identifying Indoor Air Sensitizers Investigating environmental factors at the Moore Glass facility and identifying those that may be sensitizers. Theodore Hogan, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology Moore Glass Co.
Evaluation of OSHA 1910.1200 Hazard Classifications Reviewing the chemicals in up to 10 chemical mixtures client provides to its customers and evaluating how to classify mixture hazard information on Safety Data Sheets as required by OSHA. Theodore Hogan, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology IDEAL Industries Inc.
Building Environmental Health, Safety and Sustainability in Very Small Businesses Providing EHSS analyses and instruction to employees at small companies in the Chicago metro area. Theodore Hogan, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center
Energy Efficiency Workshops for Small and Medium Enterprises Helping small and medium-sized companies identify and implement ways to reduce energy use, boost productivity and achieve measureable energy savings. Kevin Martin, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center
Municipal Energy Audit Energy audit of businesses, municipal units and other organizations in the Rochelle, Ill. area. Kevin Martin, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology City of Rochelle
PetAg Nutritional Product Formula Review Reviewing client's nutritional product formulas and production of the formulas. William Mills, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology PetAg Inc.
Case Based eLearning for Six Sigma Creating an innovative, affordable and effective online Six Sigma training system for small and mid-sized Illinois manufacturing firms. Shanthi Muthuswamy, Ph.D.
Shun Takai, Ph.D.
No Engineering Technology Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center
Analyzing Paint Lines Analyzing paint lines at client's facility and making recommendations for improvement. Purushothaman Damodaran, Ph.D.,
Shanthi Muthuswamy, Ph.D.
No Engineering Technology Caterpillar Inc.
Process Improvements for Assembly Lines Conduct time studies, balance the line and reduce process inefficiencies for Caterpillar's K-series wheel loader assembly lines. Purushothaman Damodaran, Ph.D.,
Shanthi Muthuswamy, Ph.D.
No Engineering Technology Caterpillar Inc.
NIU-RTM Operational Improvements Analyzing process flow and making recommendations for improvement. Shanthi Muthuswamy, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology RTM and Associates
NIU-DuKane Applied Research Project Optimizing process flow at client's facility. Shanthi Muthuswamy, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology DuKane Precast Inc.
Engineering Uncertainty Repository Developing a repository of teaching materials regarding uncertainties commonly encountered in engineering. Shun Takai, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology National Science Foundation (through Missouri University of Science and Technology)
Developing Commercially Viable Industrial Products From Biofuels Byproducts Developing, processing, evaluating and simulating value-added processing operations for low-value biofuel byproducts. Robert Tatara, Ph.D. No Engineering Technology US Department of Agriculture
Causal Relationships Underlying the Collective Dynamic Behavior of Swarms Quantifying social behavior in animal groups using information theory methods. Sachit Butail, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering New York University
FUN: An EAGER Proposal for the Finland-U.S. Network for the Study of Engagement and Learning in Games U.S. and Finnish investigators are leveraging their funded work in measurement of game-based learning to take radically different approaches to the measurement of STEM learning. Brianno Coller, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering TERC
Collaborative Research: Learning and Teaching Dynamics Through Play Dr. Coller has built a video game learning environment in which he has measured higher levels of student learning and student engagement. This project will test whether other engineering educators can produce similar results with the game and whether the game is a viable and attractive tool for educators. Brianno Coller, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering National Science Foundation
I-Corps L: Tinkering Labs - Invent It Here Evaluating the feasibility of a national chain of Tinkering Lab retail locations where children can build exciting science and "maker" projects using 21st century fabrication tools. Brianno Coller, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering The National Science Foundation
Modern Manufacturing Education: A Collaborative Teaching and Learning Experiment N/A Jenn-Terng Gau, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering The National Science Foundation
Thin Ferritic Sheet Forming Limit Tests Using Micro Grids and Small Size Dome Providing testing services related to the forming capabilities of various thin materials. Jenn-Terng Gau, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering General Motors Co.
PVD Coating Process Parameters Study Providing testing services related to PVD process parameters. Jenn-Terng Gau, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering General Motors Co.
Thin Titanium Sheet Formability and Material Properties Evaluation Provide testing services related to titanium sheet properties. Jenn-Terng Gau, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering General Motors Co.
REU Site: Operation ETank: Moving Toward a Sustainable World Supporting undergraduate students working on faculty-led research projects related to energy, the environment, ethics and economic issues as they relate to climate change and a sustainable energy future.
Nicholas Pohlman, Ph.D.,
David Changnon, Ph.D.
Lisa Freeman, Ph.D.
Jason Hanna, Ph.D.
Narayan Hosmane, Ph.D.
Douglas Klumpp, Ph.D.
Ross Powell, Ph.D.
Lesley Rigg, Ph.D.
Reed Scherer, Ph.D.
Zhili Xiao, Ph.D.
Tao Xu, Ph.D.
No Mechanical Engineering The National Science Foundation
Packaging Engineering and New Product Design Supporting efficiency in operations and packaging within client's product engineering division. Nicholas Pohlman, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering Suncast Corporation
g-2 Developing sensor upgrades and precision placement within an extreme vacuum to improve electron detection and muons decay during precession around a circular magnetic field. Nicholas Pohlman, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Engineering Design Support for Muon g-2 Tracker Building a new experiment to improve the accuracy of measuring the magnetic moment of the muon particle. Nicholas Pohlman, Ph.D. No Mechanical Engineering Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Searching for Physics Beyond the Standard Model at the Intensity Frontier Discovering physics beyond the standard model through the precision measurement of the properties of standard model particles. Michael Eads, Ph.D.,
Nicholas Pohlman, Ph.D.
No Mechanical Engineering U.S. Department of Energy
Development of the MU2E Preliminary Design Assisting in development of the Muon Beamstop, SiPM characterization and design of the Upstream Extinction Monitor. Vishnu Zutshi, Ph.D.,
Nicholas Pohlman, Ph.D.
No Mechanical Engineering Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
High-Current Electron Sources for Superconducting Radiofrequency Injectors Devising an integrated high-current electron source that can be mounted in close proximity to a superconducting radiofrequency resonator, possibly leading to the development of a compact MW-class electron accelerator. Venumadhav Korampally, Ph.D.,
Iman Salehinia, Ph.D.,
Philippe Piot
No Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering N/A
Building Autonomous Ground Vehicles
This is an excellent hands-on project for undergraduate students who want to get involved with a variety of sensors and micro-controllers and the interactions between them. In this project, students will start by understanding the basic requirements of an autonomous vehicle and determine required hardware (everything from chassis to sensors and controllers). Some parts are readily available and the rest will be purchased if needed. Then the students will work on assembling all the parts. The interface between various sensors and actuators and the controller board is particularly important. Completed models are already built in the lab but the students are not limited to follow the same configuration.
Hasan Ferdowsi Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Autonomous Vehicle Longitudinal Control
Autonomous cars with sensors and controllers already assembled are available to students who prefer the algorithm creation and programming. In this project, only the longitudinal movement of the vehicle is controlled, therefore the steering angle is fixed at zero degrees. The autonomous car is supposed to move forward on a straight path and achieve and maintain a desired speed. In addition, algorithms for adaptive cruise control and collision prevention should be developed and implemented. Tests will be done in the lab to verify the effectiveness of the design.
Hasan Ferdowsi Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Autonomous Vehicle Lateral Control
Autonomous cars with sensors and controllers already assembled are available to students who like algorithm design and programming. In this project, longitudinal control is already implemented and the only goal is to design a lateral control. Therefore, only the steering is required to be controlled. A robotic vehicle with various sensors is supposed to move forward while keeping its lane. A lane detection algorithm is needed to detect the lane markings and then lateral control must keep the vehicle at the center of the lane even when the lane is curved. Students will have the option to take this to the next level by designing an algorithm for safe lane changing.
Hasan Ferdowsi Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Indoor Positioning
Positioning and localization is key to control of autonomous vehicles. GPS is the device that does the job most of the time, but that is not useful in small scales and especially in an indoor environment. In this project, indoor positioning of a mobile robot inside a specific lab environment is the goal. Many different methods are available among which ultra wide band (UWB) is preferable. Students will configure prebuilt UWB positioning boards and connect them to micro-controllers in order to extract the coordinates of the mobile robot. Moreover, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), which provides acceleration and heading information, should be added to the setup. The information from IMU can then be used to enhance the accuracy of positioning.
Hasan Ferdowsi Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Mapping the Environment and Creating Occupancy Grids
An autonomous car needs to continuously know its environment and its relative direction and position with respect to the road and nearby objects. In this project, an assembled autonomous vehicle is available and the students will design algorithms and perform the required programming to create a map of the area within a predefined radius (3-5 times the length of the car) around the vehicle. This map should be frequently updated as the vehicle moves and it should contain the road and detected objects. Obviously, this requires distance measurement sensors like ultrasonic and Lidar. In addition, an occupancy grid can be extracted from the map. The occupancy grid shows all the points on the map that are both on a drivable road and at the same time not occupied by other objects. The information obtained from an occupancy grid is key to a comprehensive vehicle control.
Hasan Ferdowsi Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Distributed Detection Sensor Systems
Wireless sensor networks have been considered as a means to sense our environment in order to detect events of interest, such as the detection of a forest fire, detection of an intruder or the detection of a radio transmitter in a region. Various sensors are spread over the region and collect periodic measurements. The problem is that, in many applications, such measurements are corrupted by noise, preventing the reliable detection in a single sensor. A possible solution is to combine or fuse the measurements of various sensors in order to increase the reliability of the detection. The question then becomes: how to combine such measurements? Where to place sensors for best detection? This research project offers students the opportunity of learning how to reach reliable decisions from noisy measurements. (open to undergraduate students at the senior year).
Benedito Fonseca Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Optimization of Wireless Communication Networks in Unlicensed Frequency Spectrum
Various wireless communication technologies, such as ZigBee, WiFi and Bluetooth, operate in the unlicensed spectrum and interfere with each other. Systems need to sense and adapt to the presence of other systems. While standards specify medium access and physical layer mechanisms for coexistence, they do not specify procedures for sensing, channel change, link estimation, routing and many others. This research project offers students the opportunity of experimenting with wireless networks and learning about interference among them and ways to mitigate such interference. (open to undergraduate students at the sophomore and above years).
Benedito Fonseca Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Improving Audio Fingerprinting Systems
Audio fingerprinting is a technique commonly used to recognize and identify music (e.g., Shazam app). It can also be used in other applications, such as detection of commercials in TV and copyright enforcement. The most common audio fingerprinting algorithms rely on empirical techniques to build fingerprints. Could better detection be reached with more elaborate techniques? Which techniques are more suitable to generate fingerprints for commercials, as opposed to music? This research project allows students to experiment with audio signal processing techniques that they learn in ELE425 or ELE451. (open to undergraduate students at the junior and senior years).
Benedito Fonseca Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
High Frequency LED Lighting Efficiency Measurement N/A Donald S. Zinger Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
Indirect Tool Wear Measurement N/A Donald S. Zinger Yes Electrical Engineering N/A
IoT Based Smart Irrigation System
Agriculture plays a vital role in our economy. It is difficult to monitor the moisture level of the whole field and supply water accordingly. This project involves the design of an IoT based smart irrigation system that can analyze the moisture of soil and climate condition and regulate the water supply accordingly. Users will be able to check the moisture level, and with the predefined threshold for a moisture level of soil, the water supply will be controlled. In terms of implementation the project needs to identify the sensors and utilize an embedded processors system using Python software. The project also involves the design of a web page and application page that can be used as a user interface for the system.
Abul Azad Yes Engineering Technology N/A
IoT Based Monitoring System for Elderly
More and more elderly prefer to live on their own and have some level of independence; however, their physical and mental condition does not always allow them to do so. The projects will utilize emerging technologies to assist the elderly to remain in their own home despite their challenging physical and mental needs. This project will utilize a number of sensors to collect data to identify various household activities by elderly. The collected sensor data will be utilized to learn one’s routine and daily habits and effectively identify any health risks and trigger an alert system. The system will utilize IoT framework while utilizing cloud resources. The project involves identifying the sensors needed and designing and building a model house along with the sensor placements. This will be followed by analyzing the sensor data to come up with an alert system while involving IoT and cloud services.
Abul Azad Yes Engineering Technology N/A
IoT Based Smart Home System
Smart Home provides an energy efficient, user friendly, and comfortable house where the occupant can rely on technologies without much of effort and involvement. The project involves the design of a model house with a network of sensors and actuators that will be used to control and monitor home appliances, indoor climate and security. Home appliances include lights, refrigerators, stoves, washers, etc) and will be controlled manually and/or automatically while conserving energy. The air-conditioner will be operated intelligently while considering varying solar gain/loss, occupant habit and occupancy period. Safety is another important factor and will be addressed through local safety measures, video surveillance and intelligent notification mechanism. The project will utilize IoT and Cloud technology along with artificial intelligence.
Abul Azad Yes Engineering Technology N/A
Protecting Students from Skin Exposures to Lab and Art Chemicals
People naturally avoid contact with chemicals like bleach that smell bad and irritate the skin. But many chemicals cause no immediate symptoms but later result in permanent long-term health problems. These include chemical sensitizers that can cause asthma and skin disease from skin contact alone. Examples include over the counter glues that are used in art projects, labs and shops across the campus. The goal of this project is to develop and provide student peer-to-peer information on these risks and how to protect against these hazards. The methods of communication can be built upon the skills and interests of the URE student participants. This research opportunity is available to any student.
Theodore Hogan Yes Engineering Technology N/A
Introducing Fiber Particles as Drag Reduction Additives in Internal Flow Systems
This research investigates, for the very first time, the application of non-wood (e.g., nylon) fibrous particles in reducing the drag force in internal flow systems, e.g., commercial pipelines, blood vessels, etc. Using fibrous particles as drag reducing additives will reduce pump and power requirements and, therefore, overall cost of pipeline transport. This will include using ultra-high-speed cameras as part of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system on the laboratory-scale closed-circuit pipeline facility in the Department of Engineering Technology. Here we will study the pattern of the fiber-water mixture flows as a function of flow velocity, fiber dimension, pipe diameter, etc. Once the mechanisms are known and corresponding governing equation are developed, the knowledge can be applied to replace the current costly and inefficient drag reducing agents in internal flow systems.
Mahdi Vaezi Yes Engineering Technology N/A
Measuring Settling Velocity and Drag Coefficient of Irregularly Shaped Wheat Straw Biomass Particles as a Function of Particle Moisture Content; A Camera-Based Method
The proposed study, for the first time, experimentally investigates the drag coefficient of freely falling wheat straw biomass particles in fluids as a function of particle moisture content. An experimental 3.0 m long set-up is equipped with two high-definition video cameras with a recording rate of 2000 fps to measure self-induced velocity fluctuations, track the changing particle orientation, develop particle trajectory and calculate settling velocities of particles as well as corresponding drag coefficients. The significance of wall effects and particle moisture content on the free settling motion of particles are investigated by carrying out experiments in three fall tubes of different diameters, as well as particles with moisture contents ranging from 0 to 82 percent (fully saturated). The empirical correlation proposed here to calculate the drag coefficient, in addition to classic parameters corresponding to shape of the particle and properties of the liquid, considers the moisture content and the orientation of the particle as well. The results will be widely used in rapidly growing bioenergy industry.
Mahdi Vaezi Yes Engineering Technology N/A
Strategies for the Shipment of Time-Sensitive Products
Supply chains of products have gotten smaller due to the increased capabilities of technology and transportation. However, transportation cost continues to dominate companies’ overall logistics spending. Fuel prices can fluctuate dramatically and impact both truck and rail transport. While air transport is fastest, it comes with an even higher cost. Regardless of the long-distance travel, a majority of products are transported by truck to their final destination. This research focuses on developing strategies to minimize the overall transportation cost of time-sensitive products like agriculture or food, and policies that promise delivery to the customer within a few days.
Christine Nguyen Yes Industrial and Systems Engineering N/A
Robotics Test Bed for Collaborative Monitoring of Complex Ecosystems
Invasive species adversely impact the economy and biodiversity of the regions that they invade, with costs incurred on the order of billions of dollars in the U.S. alone. Given the limited understanding of their distribution, controlling the spread of invasive species remains a pressing challenge. This requires pushing the boundaries of environmental monitoring to track entities in unstructured and dynamic environments. This project in collaboration with faculty in the Department of Biology aims to design and develop an aerial robotics test bed for monitoring complex ecosystems with human assistance. The test bed will comprise multiple aerial robots that can interact directly (via first person perspective) or indirectly (via remote control) with a human to monitor large study sites.
Sachit Butail Yes Mechanical Engineering N/A
Designing Virtual Environments for Human-swarm Robotics
Human-swarm interaction (HSI) is an upcoming field concerned with scenarios where humans solve complex problems in a distributed manner by controlling a swarm of robots. The inclusion of humans significantly increases the capability of a robotic swarm by offloading the challenges associated with situational awareness and security concerns, as the robots stay together and avoid collisions. Testing HSI strategies are however difficult owing to the logistics involved in setting up a full-scale test bed. In this context, virtual reality (VR) provides a viable and safe alternative. The goal of this project is to design scalable virtual environments that can be used in a variety of situations for testing HSI control strategies.
Sachit Butail Yes Mechanical Engineering N/A
Vehicle acceleration estimation in the presence of rotation using an IMU and magnetometer
Whole body vibration (WBV) is associated with various adverse health outcomes among professional off-road vehicle operators. Due to rough terrain, they are highly likely exposed to not only a high level of WBV but also significant non-vertical and/or rotational accelerations. For a deeper level of study to reduce the injuries of the operators, we need to estimate the position and orientation of the vehicle accurately. The main objective of this project is to develop an algorithm to estimate global acceleration of a vehicle using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and magnetometer. Undergraduate students will be welcome to participate in the development of a measurement device set-up using a microcontroller board such as Arduino.
Ji-Chul Ryu Yes Mechanical Engineering N/A
Computational Modeling of Blood Clotting
Cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke, are the leading cause of death in the U.S. The reason behind these diseases is that the blood vessel is blocked due to clot growth. As a result, the oxygen supply is decreased, and the functional cells are dying. We are using computational modeling tools to study the blood clot growth process, with the ultimate goal of integrating models for clinic application. Students will learn how to apply principles of mechanics to biomedical engineering. Students will also receive hands-on training on programming, data visualization, and problem formulation and solving skills.
Jifu Tan Yes Mechanical Engineering N/A

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