Award Data

ABSTRACT: Laser source technology in the mid-infrared region, 2um to beyond 10um, is progressing rapidly. Quantum cascade laser (QCL) is one of these new sources, which cover the whole mid-infrared spectrum with high-power and good wall-plug efficiencies. Due to the micron sized and non-circular cross-section of the active region, the laser beam quickly diverges in the direction perpendicular to t ...

ABSTRACT: In this project, we propose to develop the baseline process to form low source-drain contact resistance to the CNTs. This includes finding the right metal stack and annealing recipe to form good ohmic contact to the CNTs. The goal is to achieve a resistance less than 25 k at per nanotube contact. To reach such goal, we will leverage the interfacial dipole alignment of conjugated polyelec ...

ABSTRACT: Speech recognition technology is in wide use today and has been successfully integrated in a number of applications. Most of these applications require a microphone located near the talker. However, when a distant microphone is used where the speaker is at some distance from the microphone as in a hands-free communication, or in a meeting room, there is a major problem with the captured ...

ABSTRACT: Despite decades of research, machine hearing continues to be far less robust than human hearing. The difference is especially noticeable in reverberant environments which pose a critical limitation on the general utility of Human Language Technology. Voci Technologies Incorporated (Voci) is the leading small business developing accelerated Human Language Technology based solutions. Voci ...

ABSTRACT: The sensor system requirements for image based navigation that uses passive millimeter wave imaging radiometry will be established based on existing RelNav and AbsNav algorithms that were demonstrated to work in multi-modal imagery. Existing flight data will be used to simulate the PMMW imagery for these tests. A preliminary design of such a PMMW system will be created. Under Phase-II th ...

ABSTRACT: The necessity of cold-chain transport is a critical deficiency for a large number of vaccines, therapeutics, and drugs. More than 17 million people die every year from infectious diseases, particularly in the developing world. Many of these deaths could be prevented by vaccination, however heat-sensitivity and the need for cold-chain transport has resulted in underutilization of vaccines ...

ABSTRACT: A platform (PHA-fuse) for the stabilization of diagnostic and therapeutic reagents will be established based upon the polymer, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). Fusions of a target molecule to PHA synthase, the enzyme responsible for PHA synthesis, will be constructed and used to catalyze the synthesis of PHA granules. These PHA granules will help stabilize the fused target molecules and elimi ...

ABSTRACT: Toyon Research Corp. and the Penn State Univ. propose research and development of innovative algorithms for classifying objects and activities observed in high-dimensional data, including video and hyperspectral imagery. The proposed algorithms include novel feature clustering techniques to enable effective characterization of intra-class and inter-class appearance variations in datasets ...

ABSTRACT: Hypersonic vehicles will require structures that can withstand highly transient flows and complex loadings throughout the flight trajectory. Shock boundary-layer interaction can excite panels locally and lead to structural failures. Non-contacting measurement technologies are needed to characterize the effect of flow transients (due to pressure and temperature fluctuations) on the struct ...

ABSTRACT: A range segment upgrade for Air Force satellite control network (AFSCN) will significantly improve system effectiveness via spectrum sharing and seamless interoperation. However, the upgraded system requires new capabilities such as real-time and accurate RF interference detection and mitigation, array antenna backlobe/sidelobe suppressions, accurate performance degradation prediction, ...