Fiscal Year 2012 proved a challenging year for academic research across the nation. The federal budget sequestration trimmed research awards for institutions large and small. The College of Engineering was no exception. And while the college’s overall funding decreased, the importance of the faculty’s work never wavered.
Our research continued to focus around seven themes we announced last year. 1. Advanced Materials and Structures in Extreme Environments 2. Alternative Energy and Offshore Power 3. Biomedical Technology 4. Clean Water Access 5. Cyber Security 6. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and 7. Sensors & Instrumentation.
New Faculty With Big Ideas
Stephen Licht
Researchers know a lot about how to design robots that operate in calm water far from dangerous obstacles. But developing underwater robots that can navigate complex harbors, shoreline areas and fast-moving rivers is far more challenging. One of the college’s newest assistant professors, Stephen Licht, is hoping to design a better robot.
Licht is nurturing a research program specializing in novel propulsion strategies, control algorithms, and sensor and manipulator designs that can help robots understand and react to complex underwater environments just as fish, turtles, skates and other marine animals do. These biologically inspired robots could undertake environmental research, find unexploded ordnance for the U.S. Navy, patrol harbors, and explore areas currently out of reach for conventional underwater vehicles.
Underwater technology and robotics have long interested Licht. He previously worked for iRobot’s maritime research group. He holds a doctorate in mechanical and oceanographic engineering from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Yale University. Licht said he joined the URI faculty looking to tap into the excitement that stems from being around innovative researchers and energetic students.
Tao Wei
With the rise of an interconnected digital world, society expects real-time, detailed data on just about everything. Recently hired electrical engineering Assistant Professor Tao Wei is working to give the people what they want.
Wei is building a research program studying the application of electromagnetics that lie at the heart of photonics, microwave structures and circuits. By better understanding wave-matter interaction along a thread of glass-infused fiber, Wei aims to develop long sensors that record measurements at hundreds, thousands or even millions of individual points. Such sensors hold unique appeal in the power and oil industries that often need to monitor miles of cabling or pipelines for changes in temperature or pressure.
Wei studied engineering at Nanjing University of Technology in China and earned his bachelor’s there. He holds a master’s and doctorate from Missouri University of Science and Technology. He came to URI attracted by the welcoming faculty.
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