| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | [archived] News Article Title | Short Description/Summary | Type | Body | |||||||||||
2 | Stanford well represented in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list | Several Stanford-affiliated students, faculty, and alumni were selected as members of this year's Forbes 30 under 30 lists, which highlights young thought leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists in 15 disciplines. | news | Several Stanford-affiliated students, faculty and alumni were selected as members of this year's Forbes 30 under 30 lists, which highlights young thought leaders, entrepreneurs and scientists in 15 disciplines. Of those listed, three are members of the Electrical Engineering community. <"http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2014/30-under-30/technology.html#tracy_chou"> Tracy Chou, 26 Software engineer, Pinterest Chou is a rising-star software engineer working on a mix of product, platform and infrastructure at Pinterest. Before Pinterest, Chou turned down an offer from Facebook to become the second engineer hired at Quora. She interned at both Facebook and Google and was a Mayfield Fellow at Stanford. She holds a BS in electrical engineering and an MS in computer science from Stanford. <"http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2014/30-under-30/science-and-healthcare.html#adam_de_la_zerda"> Adam de la Zerda, 29 Assistant Professor, Departments of Structural Biology and (by courtesy) of Electrical Engineering, School of Medicine, Stanford Here’s a crazy idea: Use sound waves to image the body at the molecular level. De la Zerda, who may be the youngest faculty member at the School of Medicine at Stanford, is making it work, using the technology to take pictures of brain tumors, blood and living mice. His early efforts led to a startup, OcuBell, focused on eye disease. <"http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2014/30-under-30/energy-and-industry.html#daniel_maren_andrew_ponec_darren_hau"> Darren Hau, 20 (listed with Daniel Maren and Andrew Ponec) Cofounders, Dragonfly Systems Dragonfly Systems is working to make solar panel systems cheaper, more efficient and reliable. “We’ve completely redesigned an often-overlooked component, the junction box, in a way that streamlines installation and improves reliability while boosting power output,” says Maren. The trio, who have postponed completion of their bachelor’s degrees at Stanford, have gotten interest from the likes of SunPower and Altenergy, which are eager to try it out. | |||||||||||
3 | Paulraj wins Marconi Prize | Professor Emeritus Arogyaswami Paulraj has won the prestigious Marconi Prize of the Marconi Society for "his pioneering contributions to developing the theory and applications of MIMO antennas." | award_faculty | Electrical Engineering Professor Emeritus Arogyaswami Paulraj has won the prestigious Marconi Prize of the Marconi Society for "his pioneering contributions to developing the theory and applications of MIMO antennas." “Paulraj’s contributions to wireless technology, and the resulting benefit to mankind, are indisputable. Every WiFi router and 4G phone today uses MIMO technology pioneered by him,” says Professor Sir David Payne, Chairman of the Marconi Society. According to the Marconi Society, its aim is to enhance the spirit of Guglielmo Marconi – scientist, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur – his contributions to communications and information, and his determination that such knowledge be directed to the social, economic and cultural improvement of all humanity. The $100,000 Marconi Prize recognizes achievements of those living individuals from anywhere in the world whose aspirations, careers and accomplishments are characterized by a similar dedication. | |||||||||||
4 | Researchers reveal more about how our brains control our arms | Krishna Shenoy and graduate student Katherine Cora Ames present a mathematical analysis of the brain activity of monkeys as they make anticipated and unanticipated reaching motions. | news_research | How do the neurons in the brain control planned versus unplanned arm movements?Krishna Shenoy, a Stanford professor of electrical engineering, neurobiology (by courtesy) andbioengineering(affiliate), wanted to answer that question as part of his group’s ongoing efforts to develop and improve brain-controlled prosthetic devices.In a paper published in the journalNeuron, Shenoy and first author Katherine Cora Ames, a doctoral student in the Neurosciences Graduate Program, present a mathematical analysis of the brain activity of monkeys as they make anticipated and unanticipated reaching motions.For the full story, visit Stanford News. | |||||||||||
5 | 2014 EE Staff Gift Card Program kicks off with 3 awardees | Three staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. | award_staff | Three staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. The EE department received several nominations in January, and nominations from 2013 were also considered.Following are January’s gift card recipients and some of the comments from their nominators:Ann Guerra, Faculty Administrator“She is very kind to students and always enthusiastic to help students… every time we need emergent help, she is willing to give us a hand.”“Ann helps anyone who goes to her for help with anything, sometimes when it’s beyond her duty.”Teresa Nguyen, Student Accounting Associate“She stays on top of our many, many student financial issues, is an extremely reliable source of information and is super friendly.”“Teresa’s cheerful disposition, her determination, and her professionalism seem to go above and beyond what is simply required.”Helen Niu, Faculty Administrator“Helen is always a pleasure to work with.”“She goes the extra mile in her dealings with me, which is very much appreciated.”The School of Engineering once again gave the EE department several gift cards to distribute to staff members who are recognized for going above and beyond. More people will be recognized next month, and past nominations will still be eligible for future months. EE faculty, staff and students are welcome to nominate a deserving staff person by visitinghttps://gradapps.stanford.edu/NotableStaff/nomination/create. | |||||||||||
6 | Pauly inducted into AIMBE | EE Professor John Pauly was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) for seminal contributions in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. | award_faculty | Professor of Electrical EngineeringJohn Paulywas inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), "for seminal contributions in Magnetic Resonance Imaging that enabled new techniques with dramatically improved imaging speed, resolution, and contrast for biomedical applications." The ceremony was held at the AIMBE annual meeting at the National Academy of Science in March 2014.The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country. The most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school chairs, research directors, professors, innovators, and successful entrepreneurs, comprise the College of Fellows.AIMBE Fellows are regularly recognized for their contributions in teaching, research, and innovation. AIMBE Fellows have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Science and the Presidential Medal of Technology and Innovation and many also are members of the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences."In addition to his stellar research contributions, John is one of the best citizens of the Stanford EE department, chairing faculty searches and serving on the undergraduate curriculum committee with great care and dedication," says EE Department Chair Abbas El Gamal. | |||||||||||
7 | Shah receives Numerical Technologies Founders Fellowship | PhD student Nishal Pradeepbhai Shah recently received the 2014 Numerical Technologies Founders Fellowship as the top performer on the Electrical Engineering Qualifying Exam. | award_student | PhD student Nishal Pradeepbhai Shah recently received the 2014 Numerical Technologies Founders Fellowship as the top performer on the Electrical Engineering Qualifying Exam. In addition, EE PhD studentFarzan Farniawon the Numerical Technologies Founders Prize as the second top performer on the Qualifying Exam.The Numerical Technologies Founders awards were established by Dr. Yao-Ting Wang (Ph.D., 1997) and his advisor Professor Thomas Kailath, co-founders of Numerical Technologies, Inc., and their spouses. The company was created to commercialize the resolution enhancement techniques for optical lithography developed in Dr. Wang’s dissertation as part of a DARPA-sponsored project (1990-2000) on the applications of Control and Signal Processing to Semiconductor Manufacturing. The theme of the project was to demonstrate the power of the Mathematical Engineering approach: going from an ill-defined physical problem to an idealized mathematical model, its often-approximate solution, and then compromises for practical implementation and transition to industry. The first applications were to Rapid Thermal Processing and then to Optical Lithography where, when the project began, the industry was facing a so-called 100nm barrier. Numerical Technologies, in collaboration with Motorola, were the first to show that the barrier could be broken. This spurred further development of a host of resolution enhancement techniques the barrier has been lowered to 32nm. The company was founded in 1995, went public in 2000, and was acquired by Synopsis, Inc. in 2003. A different measure of the importance of the Mathematical Engineering approach is that the work on Rapid Thermal Processing won outstanding paper prizes in 1994 and 2003 from the IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing. | |||||||||||
8 | Stanford engineers create tool to reduce cost of cloud computing | Two Stanford engineers have created a cluster management tool that can triple server efficiency while delivering reliable service at all times. | news_research | Data centers cost millions of dollars to build and operate, and buying servers is the single largest expense. Yet at any given moment, most of the servers in a typical data center are only using 20 percent of their capacity, because the workload can vary greatly depending on factors such as how many users log on. Since data centers must always be ready to meet peak demand, having excess capacity is the best way to ensure this today.As cloud computing grows, so will the cost of keeping such large cushions of capacity. That’s why two Stanford engineers have created a cluster management tool that can triple server efficiency while delivering reliable service at all times, allowing data center operators to serve more customers for each dollar they invest.Christos Kozyrakis, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, andChristina Delimitrou, a doctoral student in electrical engineering, will explain their cluster management system, called Quasar, when scientists who design and run data centersmeet for a conferencethat begins March 1.For the full story, visit Stanford Engineering. | |||||||||||
9 | Boyd elected to National Academy of Engineering | Stephen Boyd has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He becomes the 110th member of the Stanford Engineering faculty to join this prestigious academy. | award_faculty | Stephen P. Boyd, Samsung Professor of Engineering at the Stanford University School of Engineering, has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He becomes the 110th member of the Stanford Engineering faculty to join this prestigious academy.According to the NAE, membership honors outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice or education" and to the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology," among other acts of professional distinction.The NAE cited Boyd for his contributions in applying the methodology of convex optimization to machine learning, signal processing, circuit design and other applications.For the full story, visit Stanford Engineering. | |||||||||||
10 | DiscoverEE Days 2014 Research Poster Session Winners | Twenty-nine current Electrical Engineering graduate students recently presented their latest research posters at DiscoverEE Days – an annual welcome for newly admitted EE PhD students. | news_research | Twenty-nine current Electrical Engineering graduate students recently presented their latest research posters at DiscoverEE Days – an annual welcome for newly admitted EE PhD students.Students from all three EE research areas were invited to present, and the best poster in each area received a "best poster" award provided by the EE Student Life Committee. Posters were judged by a small group of EE and SoE faculty and staff based on four categories: research originality, importance and potential impact; content (explanation of concepts, results and insights); oral presentation; and visual quality.Following are the winners of the poster presentation and honorable mentions in each category, and the winning posters will be on display in the Packard Atrium March 24-28:Hardware/Software SystemsWinner:Gage Hills, "Rapid Co-optimization of Processing and Circuit Design to Overcome Carbon Nanotube Variations"Honorable Mention:Mahmoud Saadat, "A Closed-loop Reconfigurable Switched-Capacitor DC-DC Converter for Sub-mW Energy Harvesting Applications"Honorable Mention:Hyungmin Cho, "Quantitative Evaluation of Soft Error Injection Techniques for Robust System Design"Information Systems ScienceWinner:Alexandros Manolakos Mainak Chowdhury, "Robust Design and Performance of a Noncoherent SIMO System using Energy Measurements"Winner:Ka-Kit Lam, "Near-optimal Assembly for Shotgun Sequencing with Noisy Reads"Honorable Mention:David Chen, "Memory-Efficient Image Databases for Mobile Visual Search"Physical Technology ScienceWinner:Max Shulaker, "Carbon Nanotube Computer: Transforming Scientific Discoveries into Working Systems"Honorable Mention:Amal El-Ghazaly, "Post-Fabrication Voltage Control and Redirection of Magnetic Anisotropy"Honorable Mention:Feifei Lian, "Thermal and Electrical Transport in Monodispersed Carbon Nanotube Films"Honorable Mention:Sam Emaminejad, "Applications of Ultra Dielectrophoresis for Microfluidic Sample Preparation and Proteomics" | |||||||||||
11 | Two EE Managers Receive Annual SoE Awards | Department Manager Mary K. McMahon and Facilities and Health & Safety Manager Kenny Green were recently recognized for their exceptional work at the 2014 School of Engineering Service Award Reception. | award_staff | Department Manager Mary K. McMahon and Facilities and Health Safety Manager Kenneth (Kenny) Green were recently recognized for their exceptional work at the 2014 School of Engineering (SoE) Service Award Reception, which honors staff members and their years of service to Stanford.McMahon received the school’s Leadership Award, which recognizes mentoring and management contributions. She has been with the EE Department for 4 years, but has been a Stanford employee for 10 years. In her role, she oversees the staff members that manage various functional areas within the department, while also handling special projects and day-to-day problem solving. “The department manager keeps her eye on everything, steps in when needed, and knows when to get out of an extremely-skilled staff member’s way when he or she has it handled,” she said.Green received the school’s Safety Award, which recognizes compliance and safety contributions. While he has been with the EE Department for nearly 7 years, he is coming up on his 23rdanniversary at Stanford. Green manages facilities and safety for four department buildings: David Packard, Paul Allen, Allen Annex, and the Magnetic Resonance System Research Laboratory (MRSRL).“This is wonderful recognition of their outstanding service to our department,” says EE Chair Abbas El Gamal.The reception also included recognition of SoE staff for their years of service infive-year increments. Congratulations to the seven EE staff members recognized in 2014:30 Years: David Hinson, Ivan Linscott25 Years: Keith Gaul, Darlene Hadding5 Years: Andrea Kuduk, R. Eric Wheeler, Golan Yona | |||||||||||
12 | February 2014 Staff Gift Card Program Awardees | Two staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. | award_staff | Two staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. The EE department received several new nominations in February, and previous nominations were also considered.Following are February’s gift card recipients and some of the comments from their nominators:Katy Klemme, Associate Director of Admissions“Katy is a true team player. She works collaboratively with her colleagues to handle sensitive information in special cases and works to find an optimal solution for both the students and the department.”“She has gone above and beyond her duties to ensure that our department is recruiting and admitting the best students.”“Katy has done an excellent job organizing and running the admissions system.”J Provine, Senior Research Engineer, Integrated Circuits Lab“J volunteered to help with my class… He spent upwards of 4-5 weeks of lecture time plus many hours teaching the students how to use (a tool) for a class project.”“He goes way beyond the normal call of duty!”The School of Engineering once again gave the EE department several gift cards to distribute to staff members who are recognized for going above and beyond. More people will be recognized next month, and past nominations will still be eligible for future months. EE faculty, staff and students are welcome to nominate a deserving staff person by visitinghttps://gradapps.stanford.edu/NotableStaff/nomination/create. | |||||||||||
13 | March 2014 Staff Gift Card Program Awardee | Administrative Associate June Wang is this month’s Staff Gift Card Program awardee. | award_staff | One staff member received a $50 Visa card in recognition of her extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. The EE department received some new nominations in March, and previous nominations were also considered.Administrative AssociateJune Wangis this month’s Staff Gift Card Program awardee. Following are some comments from her nominators:“June is very organized and efficient and provides help to others when needed.”“She’s trustworthy, competent and thorough, so one asks for her assistance with the security of complete confidence.”“June is very professional.”The School of Engineering once again gave the EE department several gift cards to distribute to staff members who are recognized for going above and beyond. More people will be recognized next month, and past nominations will still be eligible for future months. EE faculty, staff and students are welcome to nominate a deserving staff person by visitinghttps://gradapps.stanford.edu/NotableStaff/nomination/create. | |||||||||||
14 | Rosenblum elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences | Mendel Rosenblum, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S). | award_faculty | Mendel Rosenblum, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts Sciences (AAAS).The Academy membership encompasses over 4,600 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members and reflects the full range of disciplines and professions: mathematics, the physical and biological sciences, medicine, the social sciences and humanities, business, government, public affairs, and the arts. Among the Academy's Fellows are more than 250 Nobel laureates and 60 Pulitzer Prize winners. Rosenblum was elected to represent the "Computer Sciences" section. | |||||||||||
15 | Mitra Receives A. Richard Newton Technical Impact Award | Associate Professor of EE and CS Subhasish Mitra is the recipient of the A. Richard Newton Technical Impact Award for 2014. | award_faculty | Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and of Computer ScienceSubhasish Mitrais the recipient of the A. Richard Newton Technical Impact Award for 2014 for his 2002 paper entitled, “X-Compact: An Efficient Response Compaction Technique for Test Cost Reduction.”The Newton Technical Impact Award in Electronic Design Automation is jointly sponsored by the IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on Design Automation. It honors an outstanding technical contribution within the scope of electronic design automation, as evidenced by a paper published at least 10 years before the presentation of the award.The award honors A. Richard Newton, a luminary in the design automation area in academia and industry, faculty contributor and adviser to many of the leaders in the field, company founder, and dean of engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who died in 2007. Professor Newton embodied the idea of technical impact which this award seeks to recognize. | |||||||||||
16 | EE grad students win 2014 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowships | Hao Nan and Miaad Aliroteh recently won 2014 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowships for their "innovation" titled, "Biometric Authentication with 3D Map of Blood Vessels Using Novel Microwave Imaging." | award_student | Two of Professor Amin Arbabian's graduate students, Hao Nan and Miaad Aliroteh, recently won 2014 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowships for their "innovation" titled, "Biometric Authentication with 3D Map of Blood Vessels Using Novel Microwave Imaging."Out of 137 submitted proposals from 18 schools, Qualcomm first selected 34 finalists (an acceptance rate of 24.8 percent). The judges then had the difficult task of selecting the nine winning teams (acceptance rate: 6.6 percent) who were each awarded a $100,000 Fellowship. | |||||||||||
17 | 2014 Kailath Lecture features Donald Knuth | Donald Knuth, Stanford Professor Emeritus of The Art of Computer Programming delivered this year’s Kailath Lecture titled, "Let's Not Dumb Down the History of Computer Science." | news_department | On Wednesday, May 7, 2014, Donald Knuth, Professor Emeritus of The Art of Computer Programming, Stanford University, delivered this year’s Kailath Lecture titled, "Let's Not Dumb Down the History of Computer Science."Knuth has been working since 1962 on "The Art of Computer Programming" - a book series that attempts to organize and explain many of the most important methods used inside computers while also tracing the interesting history of their development. Four volumes of that series have been published so far, and he also has more than two dozen other books in print. Moreover, Knuth is the author of a popular software system called TeX, used to facilitate and enhance the publication of books that are being written by others.The Annual Kailath Lecture and Colloquium Series was endowed in 2005 by a group of Kailath's former students and associates to honor him on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Its aim is to foster greater awareness of the power of the mathematics-based disciplines of information theory, communications, computation, control and signal processing to address challenging problems in engineering and, increasingly, the physical, biological and social sciences.For more information, please visithttp://kailathlecture.stanford.edu/index.htmlor contact Patricia Oshiro atposhiro@stanford.edu. | |||||||||||
18 | Poon invents safe way to transfer energy to medical chips in the body | Ada Poon has invented a way to wirelessly transfer power deep inside the body to run tiny electronic medical gadgets like pacemakers, nerve stimulators or new sensors and devices yet-to-be developed. | news_research | A Stanford electrical engineer has invented a way to wirelessly transfer power deep inside the body and then use this power to run tiny electronic medical gadgets such as pacemakers, nerve stimulators or new sensors and devices yet to be developed.The discoveries reported May 19 in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesculminate years of efforts byAda Poon, assistant professor of electrical engineering, to eliminate the bulky batteries and clumsy recharging systems that prevent medical devices from being more widely used.The technology could provide a path toward a new type of medicine that allows physicians to treat diseases with electronics rather than drugs."We need to make these devices as small as possible to more easily implant them deep in the body and create new ways to treat illness and alleviate pain," said Poon.Poon's team built an electronic device smaller than a grain of rice that acts as a pacemaker. It can be powered or recharged wirelessly by holding a power source about the size of a credit card above the device, outside the body.For the full story, visit Stanford Engineering. | |||||||||||
19 | Engineers design game controller that senses when players get bored | The next step in interactive gaming could come in the form of a handheld game controller that gauges the player's brain activity and makes the game more exciting when it senses the player is bored. | news_research | Sometimes, a dozen ravenous zombies just aren't exciting enough to hold a video gamer's interest. The next step in interactive gaming, however, could come in the form of a handheld game controller that gauges the player's brain activity and throws more zombies on the screen when it senses that the player is bored.The prototype controller was born from research conducted in the lab ofGregory Kovacs, a professor ofelectrical engineeringat Stanford, in collaboration with Texas Instruments. The main area of research by grad students in Kovacs' lab involves developing practical ways of measuring physiological signals to determine how a person's bodily systems are functioning.For the full story, visit Stanford Engineering.For a local ABC News story about this project, visitwww.abclocal.go.com/kgo. | |||||||||||
20 | April 2014 Staff Gift Card Program Awardees | Three staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. | award_staff | Three staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. The EE department received several new nominations in April, and previous nominations were also considered.Following are April’s gift card recipients and some of the comments from their nominators:Beverly Davis, Administrative Associate“Beverly… has done an outstanding job coordinating various program committee events.”“Committee members and visitors very sincerely acknowledged the outstanding job she did.”Meo Kittiwanich, Academic Services Specialist“One of Meo’s most challenging tasks within EE is to allocate TAs and CAs for all our courses each quarter. This is a very important, but also thankless, job… she tackles it admirably.”“She is proactive and responsive and she is always willing to put in extra time."Crystle Palafox, Administrative Associate“Crystle is highly dependable and very quick.”“She also communicates well, ensuring we are all on the same page when things need to get done."The School of Engineering once again gave the EE department several gift cards to distribute to staff members who are recognized for going above and beyond. More people will be recognized next month, and past nominations will still be eligible for future months. EE faculty, staff and students are welcome to nominate a deserving staff person by visitinghttps://gradapps.stanford.edu/NotableStaff/nomination/create. | |||||||||||
21 | May 2014 Staff Gift Card Program Awardees | Four staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. | award_staff | Four staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. The EE department received new nominations in May, and previous nominations were also considered.Following are May’s gift card recipients and some of the comments from their nominators:Fely Barrera, Administrative Associate“Fely handled all the logistics (of an 80-person workshop)… and found various ways to lower the cost. She went way beyond the normal call of duty.”“She is always cheerful, organized and on top of everything.”Amy Duncan, Degree Progress Officer“Amy does an exceptional job in advising student about the ways and policies of EE. Her patience and knowledge makes the challenging process of achieving success in the EE degree programs much easier for our students.”“She is a delight to work with.”Karin Sligar, Assistant to the Chair“Karin offers help before you ask. She often says, ‘Let me know how I can help.’”“She is a true team player.”Eric Wheeler, Web and Systems Administrator“Eric has gone way beyond the call of duty to ensure that EE has the best of most useful website possible. He’s taken difficult specifications and found unique and creative ways to implement them.”“His willingness to try things over and over until people are happy has been a blessing.”The School of Engineering once again gave the EE department several gift cards to distribute to staff members who are recognized for going above and beyond. More people will be recognized next month, and past nominations will still be eligible for future months. EE faculty, staff and students are welcome to nominate a deserving staff person by visitinghttps://gradapps.stanford.edu/NotableStaff/nomination/create. | |||||||||||
22 | Mysterious features spotted on Titan reveal the moon's seasonal changes | Bright spots in a large lake on Titan suggest that Saturn's largest moon supports processes similar to Earth's water cycle, says EE Prof. Howard Zebker. | news_research | At first glance, Titan has little in common with Earth. The largest moon of Saturn, temperatures on Titan's surface dip nearly 300 F below zero, its seas slosh with liquid methane, and its sky is a murky shade of creamsicle.And yet, fresh analysis of mysterious features spotted on the moon indicates that it experiences one of the same global processes that is important here on Earth.In a study published in the latest issue of Nature Geoscience, scientists operating the Cassini satellite, including Stanford's Howard Zebker, present evidence that Titan has seasonal cycles analogous to Earth's, and that the moon's surface conditions change as the Titan year unfolds.The Cassini satellite has been orbiting Saturn and its moons since 2004. Zebker, a professor of electrical engineering and of geophysics, is one of the lead scientists operating the spacecraft's radar instruments. Radar is critical for studying Titan in particular because the moon's atmosphere is typically too cloudy and thick for optical instruments to see through easily.During five fly-bys of Titan's Ligeia Mare – a liquid methane sea larger than Lake Superior – the scientists noticed bright features that appeared and changed shape on the sea's surface. After ruling out a technical glitch or an exotic artifact of radar scattering, the group focused on three causes most likely for the phenomena."We are driven to use our imaginations and picture what could be happening on the sea to produce a transient feature," Zebker said.For the full story, visit Stanford News. | |||||||||||
23 | June 2014 Staff Gift Card Program Awardees | Two staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. | award_staff | Two staff members each received a $50 Visa card in recognition of their extraordinary efforts as part of the department’s 2014 Staff Gift Card Bonus Program. The EE department received new nominations in June, and previous nominations were also considered.Following are June’s gift card recipients and some of the comments from their nominators:Doug Chaffee, Administrative Associate"It's not one thing that Doug did, it's the collection. Doug is extremely resourceful about getting everything done seamlessly.""He understands the bottom line of my group's needs, and how to get to it most efficiently. A true enabler. My bandwidth for research and teaching has increased significantly since I started working with him."John DeSilva, Systems and Network Manager"John is always available and willing to help no matter if it is an IT issue or a department function. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated IT person.""He's a big-picture thinker that keeps everyone calm during difficult situations; an invaluable team member."The School of Engineering once again gave the EE department several gift cards to distribute to staff members who are recognized for going above and beyond. More people will be recognized next month, and past nominations will still be eligible for future months. EE faculty, staff and students are welcome to nominate a deserving staff person by visitinghttps://gradapps.stanford.edu/NotableStaff/nomination/create. | |||||||||||
24 | Feng Xiong wins MRS "Gold" Graduate Student Award | Feng Xiong has been awarded the Materials Research Society (MRS) 2014 "Gold" Graduate Student Award | award_student | Feng Xiong has been awarded the Materials Research Society (MRS) 2014 "Gold" Graduate Student Award.Feng Xiong was born in Wuhan, Hubei, China. He received the Singapore Ministry of Education Scholarship for Pre-university Study in 2000 and finished his high school and junior college study in Singapore. Feng continued his study in Singapore to pursue his undergraduate education at National University of Singapore (NUS), where he worked with Prof. Wu Yihong on characterizing transport properties of graphene. After receiving his Bachelor of Engineering degree (with First Class Honors) in Electrical Engineering at NUS in 2008, Feng moved to the United States to continue his graduate study at University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign (UIUC), under the direction of Professor Eric Pop. Feng received his Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from UIUC in Aug 2010 and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UIUC in May 2014. Feng is currently working as a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University under the supervision of Prof Yi Cui and Prof Eric Pop. Feng is a recipient of the C.R. Allen Outstanding International Student Award, the Beckman Graduate Fellowshipand theTSMC Gold Student ResearchAward. His research interests include (but are not limited to) phase change materials, resistive memory and carbon-based materials.Read More »MRS Graduate Student Awards are intended to honor and encourage graduate students whose academic achievements and current materials science research display a high level of excellence and distinction. MRS seeks to recognize students of exceptional ability who show promise for significant future achievement in materials research and education. | |||||||||||
25 | Team Develops Self-Cooling Solar Cells That Last Longer and Have More Power | A team of researchers led by Shanhui Fan has found a way to let solar cells cool themselves by shepherding away unwanted thermal radiation. | news_research | Scientists may have overcome one of the major hurdles in developing high-efficiency, long-lasting solar cells – keeping them cool, even in the blistering heat of the noonday Sun.By adding a specially patterned layer of silica glass to the surface of ordinary solar cells, a team of researchers led byShanhui Fan, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford University, has found a way to let solar cells cool themselves by shepherding away unwanted thermal radiation. The researchers describe their innovative design in the premiere issue ofThe Optical Society’s new open-access journalOptica.Solar cells are among the most promising and widely used renewable energy technologies on the market today. Though readily available and easily manufactured, even the best designs convert only a fraction of the energy they receive from the sun into usable electricity.Part of this loss is the unavoidable consequence of converting sunlight into electricity. A surprisingly vexing amount, however, is causesd by solar cells overheating.Under normal operating conditions, solar cells can easily reach temperatures of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius) or more. These harsh conditions quickly sap efficiency and can markedly shorten the lifespan of a solar cell. Actively cooling solar cells, however –either by ventilation or coolants –would be prohibitively expensive and at odds with the need to optimize exposure to the sun.For the full story, visit engineering.stanford.edu. | |||||||||||
26 | Keith Gaul, Long-Time EE Instructional Labs Manager, Dies From Heart Attack | The EE department mourns Gaul, who died due to a massive heart attack on Aug. 5 while backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas. | news | EE Instructional Labs Manager Keith Gaul died due to a massive heart attack on Aug. 5, 2014. The attack occurred four days into his backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevadas, and despite CPR and a flown-in medical team, Gaul passed away.He began working at Stanford in 1988 and had been a part of the electrical engineering (EE) community since 2000."His contribution to the department will be felt for a long time to come," wrote Department Chair Abbas El Gamal in an email to the EE community. "The loss of a good friend will be felt for much longer."For a full story about his passing with quotes from several EE community members, visit The Stanford Daily. | |||||||||||
27 | Stanford engineer helps determine how the brain learns new tasks | EE Consulting Professor Stephen Ryu co-authored research that reveals the neural basis for why learning new tasks can be difficult, which could lead to improved therapies for stroke and other brain injuries. | news_research | Scientists from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and Stanford have discovered a fundamental constraint in the brain that may explain why a person has a relatively easier time learning a new skill if it's related to an ability he has already mastered.Published inNature, theresearchdetails for the first time that there are limitations on how adaptable the brain is during learning, and that these restrictions are a key determinant for whether a new skill will be easy or difficult to learn.Understanding the ways in which the brain's activity can be "flexed" during learning could eventually be used to develop better treatments for stroke and other brain injuries."This gives insight into the neural basis for the limitation on learning new things," said co-authorStephen Ryu, a consulting professor of electrical engineering at Stanford and a neurosurgeon at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. "One of the clinical implications is that it may provide a more intelligent way to train new cognitive tasks."For the full story, visit http://news.stanford.edu. | |||||||||||
28 | REU Program Presentation Day! | The Final Presentation Day for the EE Research Experience for Undergraduates Program took place on Thursday, Aug. 28. | news_research | The Final Presentation Day for the Electrical Engineering Research Experience for Undergraduates (EE REU) Program took place on Thursday, August 28, 2014. This day marked the end of the ten week research program that 44 EE undergraduates participated in over the summer. The first part of the final presentation day was the oral presentations that took place in Allen CIS-X Auditorium from 12:30pm - 2:20pm. Each REU Intern gave a 2-3 minute oral presentation about the research they conducted over the summer. After the oral presentations, a poster session was held from 2:30pm-5:00pm in the Packard Atrium. With over 110 guests including students, faculty, staff, donors, and others from the Engineering community, all of the interns were able to showcase their summer research. The EE REU Program is a 10 week summer research program for Electrical Engineering undergraduate students. Funded by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Research (VPUE), the EE REU Program gives undergraduates the opportunity to conduct research. Each EE REU Intern is matched with a faculty and graduate mentor on various topics including mobile networking, nanotechnology, and bio-medical imaging. As an intern of the program, students receive a research stipend and the opportunity to live on-campus. More information about the EE REU Program can be viewed at http://ee.stanford.edu/academics/reu. EE REU 2014 Stats: 44 students total 8 females, 36 males 15 rising sophomores, 19 rising juniors, 9 rising seniors, 1 co-term student | |||||||||||
29 | Duchi and Wetzstein Join the EE Faculty | John Duchi and Gordon Wetzstein Join the Electrical Engineering Faculty this September | news_department | The Electrical Engineering Department welcomes two new assistant professors, Gordon Wetzstein and John Duchi. Both are joining Stanford this September.Gordon Wetzstein's research addresses challenges in computational imaging and display and in computational light transport. He received his PhD in computer science from the University of British Columbia in 2011, then worked at MIT's Media Lab as a research scientist and postdoctoral associate before joining the Stanford faculty. His office is on the second floor of the Packard Electrical Engineering Building in room 236.John Duchi's interests include optimization, statistics, machine learning and computation. He completed his PhD in computer science at UC Berkeley in June and is joining both Statistics and Electrical Engineering with a joint appointment. His office is on the first floor of Sequoia Hall in room 126. | |||||||||||
30 | Stanford engineers aim to connect the world with ant-sized radios | Costing just pennies to make, tiny radios-on-a-chip are designed to serve as controllers or sensors for the 'Internet of Things.' | news_research | A Stanford engineering team, in collaboration with researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, has built a radio the size of an ant, a device so energy efficient that it gathers all the power it needs from the same electromagnetic waves that carry signals to its receiving antenna – no batteries required.Designed to compute, execute and relay commands, this tiny wireless chip costs pennies to fabricate – making it cheap enough to become the missing link between the Internet as we know it and the linked-together smart gadgets envisioned in the "Internet of Things.""The next exponential growth in connectivity will be connecting objects together and giving us remote control through the web," said Amin Arbabian, an assistant professor of electrical engineering who recently demonstrated this ant-sized radio chip at the VLSI Technology and Circuits Symposium in Hawaii.For the full story, please visit http://news.stanford.edu. | |||||||||||
31 | New Undergraduate Curriculum Empowers Makers | Electrical engineers make the technologies and systems that communicate, store and process information. | news_department | Electrical engineers make the technologies and systems that communicate, store and process information. They harness the fundamental forces of nature to serve everyday needs, whether this involves creating a computer based oncarbon nanotubes,implanting sensorsdeep inside the human body or inventing next generationmemory chips. Electrical engineers change the world. Our new curriculum gives Stanford students a rigorous foundation in classical and modern physics while quickly immersing them in the exciting applications made possible by EE. Read more » | |||||||||||
32 | Asnani receives 2014 Marconi Society Young Scholars Award | EE PhD Candidate Himanshu Asnani to receive 2014 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award October 2nd | award_student | EE PhD Candidate Himanshu Asnani (read EE Spotlight)received the2014 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award, which recognizes academic achievements and leadership in the field of communications and information science. His advisor is Associate Professor Tsachy Weissman.The selection committee cited Asnani’s outstanding research work on data compression in networks and genomic data, as well as cooperation in multi-terminal source coding; his excellent academic record; and his demonstrated entrepreneurial capabilities.Marconi Young Scholars are individuals who have, at an early age, already demonstrated exceptional engineering or scientific research and entrepreneurial capabilities with the potential to create significant advances telecommunications and the Internet. They are students whose advisers and nominators believe will make a real difference in science and society, serving as role models and an inspiration for others.Watch 2014 Marconi Society Young Scholars award video. | |||||||||||
33 | Electrical engineering curriculum sees overhaul | "Getting students excited about the things that they’re going to be able to do with an EE degree is I think a great introduction to the major," Alex Omid-Zohoor M.S. ’10, EE Ph.D. student and undergraduate advising TA. | news_department | The electrical engineering department implemented new curriculum changes and introduced several extracurricular activities for its students this year. The overhaul was intended to give the students a greater degree of control and flexibility over their major.“The old curriculum required students to go through a series of prerequisite courses, such as those in math and physics, without being able to get into application until deeper in the program,” said Abbas El Gamal, chair of the Electrical Engineering department.“The goal of EE, I think, is not to define itself in how rigorous it is, but more in enabling a broad set of applications for interested students – I think new students should find it more accessible, for sure,” Omid-Zohoor said.Image credit:SAM GIRVIN/The Stanford Daily | |||||||||||
34 | Professor Kailath Receives National Medal of Science from President Obama | Congratulations to Professor Kailath! President Obama announced Friday that EE Professor Thomas Kailath has received the National Medal of Science. | award_faculty | President Obama announced a new class of recipients of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation—our Nation’s highest honors for achievement and leadership in advancing the fields of science and technology.EE Professor Thomas Kailathreceived the National Medal of Science. He was the first recipient of the Hitachi America Professorship in 1988, and received numerous awards and recognition for his research, writing and contributions.Professor Kailath assumed emeritus status in 2001.Read Stanford Report article | |||||||||||
35 | Her minuscule devices provide potential for study – and eventual treatment – of pain | Assistant Professor Poon collaborates with anesthesiologists, mechanical- and bio- engineers to look at a more natural measure of pain relief. | news_research | Ada Poon, a Stanford assistant professor of electrical engineering, is a master at building miniscule wireless devices that function in the body and can be powered remotely. Now, she and collaborators in bioengineering and anesthesia want to leverage this technology to develop a way of studying – and eventually developing treatments for – pain.Chronic pain costs the economy $600 billion a year and the two most common treatments have significant drawbacks: narcotics are addictive and surgery is costly and carries considerable risks."What we will be able to look at is a more natural measure of pain relief," Poon said. They could assess whether a treatment allows mice to return to normal activities by tallying time spent on an exercise wheel or socializing.This collaboration is one of 22 projects recently funded by the Stanford Bio-X Seed grants, which Carla Shatz, the director of Bio-X, calls the "glue" that brings interdisciplinary teams together. This project is typical, with an electrical engineer, a bioengineer and an anesthesiologist, all of whom are Bio-X affiliates, working together to solve a biomedical problem. Bio-X has so far brought together more than 600 interconnected faculty members from across campus."When you combine people with different skills you will come up with something with truly high impact," Clark said.For the full story, visit news.stanford.edu/newsImage: L.A. Cicero | |||||||||||
36 | Tiny, sound-powered chip developed to serve as medical device | "We think this will enable researchers to develop a new generation of tiny implants designed for a wide array of medical applications," reports EE Asst. Professor Amin Arbabian. | news_department | Stanford engineers are developing a way to send power – safely and wirelessly – to "smart chips" programmed to perform medical tasks and report back the results.Their approach involves beaming ultrasound at a tiny device inside the body designed to do three things:convert the incoming sound waves into electricity;process and execute medical commands; andreport the completed activity via a tiny built-in radio antenna."We think this will enable researchers to develop a new generation of tiny implants designed for a wide array of medical applications," said Amin Arbabian, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Stanford.Arbabian's team recently presented a workingprototypeof this wireless medical implant system at the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference in San Jose.For the full story, visitnews.stanford.edu/newsImage credit: Arbabian Lab | |||||||||||
37 | Harris wins the 2014 Al Cho MBE Award | The award acknowledges contributions to the science, technology, device applications, and commercialization of molecular beam epitaxy [MBE] | award_faculty | Professor James Harris received the Al Cho MBE Award for his seminal and sustained contributions to the science, technology, device applications, and commercialization of molecular beam epitaxy [MBE] including dilute-nitride multijunction solar cells.Harris was presented with the Al Cho MBE Award at the International Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy (ICMBE) in September.The International MBE Advisory Committee presents the Al Cho MBE Awardannually at the International MBE Conference in honor of Al Cho, "Father of MBE", recognizing individuals who have made fundamental contributions to the science and technology of MBE. | |||||||||||
38 | Pop wins 2014 Okawa Foundation Research Grant | Pop’s research theme is “Tunable Thermal and Thermoelectric Metamaterials” | award_faculty | Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Eric Pophas won the 2014 Okawa Foundation Research Grant. Pop’s research theme is “Tunable Thermal and Thermoelectric Metamaterials.” The Grant Presentation Ceremony will occur in December.The mission of the Okawa Foundation is promotion and development in the field of Information and Communications Technology through awards and research grants as well as efforts to nurtureresearchers, engineers, and providers. It also seeks to promote diversity and ubiquitousness of human communication and thereby contribute to thepeace and prosperity of humankind.Read more about the Okawa Foundation:http://www.okawa-foundation.or.jp/en/outline/index.html | |||||||||||
39 | Goldsmith wins IEEE's Edwin Howard Armstrong Achievement Award | For sustained and fundamental contributions to wireless communications | award_faculty | Electrical Engineering Professor Andrea Goldsmith is the 2014 recipient of IEEE's Edwin Howard Armstrong Achievement Award.IEEE celebrates and recognizes scientific and engineering excellence through the presentation of peer reviewedMedals,Technical Field Awards, andSociety, Council and Unit Awards.Goldsmith's research is to develop novel techniques, protocols, and designs for future wireless systems and networks. Her specific research areas include the design and capacity analysis of wireless systems and networks, multiple-antenna wireless networks, cognitive radios, sensor and networks, cross-layer wireless network design, and applications of communications and signal processing to health and neuroscience.Read more about IEEE:http://www.ieee.org/index.html | |||||||||||
40 | Three Faculty Named to Endowed Chairs | Professors John Pauly, Kunle Olukotun, and Dan Boneh have been honored with new academic titles. | award_faculty | Three Stanford Electrical Engineering professors have been honored with new endowed chair titles. The honored professors areDan Boneh, received The Rajeev Motwani Professorship in Computer Science;Kunle Olukotun, receivedThe Cadence Design Systems Professorship; andJohn PaulyreceivedThe Reid Weaver Dennis Professorship in Electrical Engineering.An endowed professorship (also referred to as an endowed chair) is one of the highest honors bestowed on a member of the faculty. This prestigiousappointment recognizes his or her many outstanding accomplishments and contributions.Approximately one third of the more than 60endowed professorshipsin the School of Engineering are held by EE faculty. Chairs may be created tohonor individuals or organizations and may express a preference to honor a professor working in aspecific academic area. | |||||||||||
41 | Extraordinary contributions to undergraduate education | Professors Dutton and Osgood receive Bass University Fellow titles | award_faculty | Two EE professors were recognized for their undergraduate education conrtibutions:Robert Dutton received the William and Lynda Steere University Fellow in Undergraduate Education and Brad Osgood was reappointed the Paul Davies Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.Provost John Etchemendy announced the nine Stanford faculty members on Thursday, October 23rd.Read the entire article at the Stanford Report. | |||||||||||
42 | Stanford Offers Joint EE MS/MBA Degree Program | A new joint Stanford EE MS/MBA degree program will be available to graduate students in the 2015-2016 academic year. Students may apply for admission starting this fall. | news_department | A new jointStanford Electrical Engineering MS/MBA degree program will be available to graduate students in the 2015-2016 academic year. Students may apply for admission starting this fall.“The joint focus recognizes that the students we educate need and want an integrated understanding of engineering, strategy and execution as they drive future innovations that increasingly involve both technology and business,” said Madhav Rajan, senior associate dean and faculty director of the MBA program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.The joint program structure will allow students to complete the two degrees in three years instead of the usual four years needed to complete each one separately.“The Electrical Engineering MS/MBA program represents the growing emphasis on multidisciplinary learning at Stanford,” said Olav Solgaard, professor of electrical engineering at the School of Engineering. “This program builds on the culture of entrepreneurship and creativity in the schools of business and engineering at Stanford and will better equip our students to take new technologies from basic research to commercial products.”Students wishing to undertake the joint program must separately apply to and be accepted by both the Stanford Graduate School of Business MBA program and the School of Engineering’sElectrical Engineering MS program. Completion of the joint program requires a combined total of 129 units, including 84 units at Stanford GSB and 45 units in the Electrical Engineering department. Students who complete the joint program will earn two degrees: an MS in electrical engineering and the MBA.Admission to the Masters in Electrical Engineering requires a strong undergraduate background in engineering or quantitative subjects such as physics or mathematics. Applicants to the MBA program are assessed on intellectual vitality, demonstrated leadership potential and personal qualities. Students also must take the Graduate Records Exam to be eligible for admission. Details on admission can be found on the EE Joint Degree Programspages.The deadline for application to the Electrical Engineering MS program for the 2015-2016 academic year is December9, 2014.For more information about the admission process for the Stanford MBA, please visit:http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/admission. Application to the MBA program may be made in any of three rounds endingOctober 1, 2014,January 7, 2015, orApril 1, 2015. Applicants for joint degrees with the School of Engineering are encouraged to apply for the MBA in round two in January. | |||||||||||
43 | Team wins Distinguished Award Prize | EE graduate students and Professor Wang collaborate with researchers and MEs to create portable device that can detect hepatitis B infections. | news_research | A team of Stanford University students and faculty has been selected as one of five Distinguished Award Prize winners in the Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE, a global competition to catalyze breakthrough medical sensing technologies that will ultimately enable faster diagnoses and easier personal health monitoring.The Stanford team was recognized for developing a hepatitis B blood test that can be analyzed in minutes using the microprocessor in a smart phone.The current prize recognizes a 12-month effort by four PhD students – mechanical engineers Daniel Bechstein and Jung-Rok Lee, and electrical engineers Joohong Choi and Adi W. Gani – to create a mobile version of a technology that [EE Professor] Wang and other Stanford researchers have been developing for years.In essence, the researchers graft magnetic nanoparticles onto biological markers. In this case they are interested in two biomarkers. One is the hepatitis B virus, called the antigen. The other is the antibody that fights hepatitis B. The magnetic particles are the homing beacons that allow instruments to track these biomarkers.For the full story, visitengineering.stanford.edu/newsImage credit:Eigen Lifesciences | |||||||||||
44 | EE information theory is guiding improved ways to model and compress data | A team led by Stanford electrical engineers has compressed a completely sequenced human genome to just 2.5 megabytes – small enough to attach to an email. | news | A team led by Stanford electrical engineers has compressed a completely sequenced human genome to just 2.5 megabytes – small enough to attach to an email. The engineers used what is known as reference-based compression, relying on a human genome sequence that is already known and available. Their compression has improved on the previous record by 37 percent. The genome the team compressed was that of James Watson, who co-discovered the structure of DNA more than 60 years ago."On the surface, this might not seem like a problem for electrical engineers," said Tsachy Weissman, an associate professor of Electrical Engineering. "But our work in information theory is guiding the development of new and improved ways to model and compress the incredibly voluminous genomic data the world is amassing." In addition to Weissman, the team included Golan Yona, a senior research engineer in Electrical Engineering, and Dmitri Pavlichin, a post-doctoral scholar in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering.In recording quality scores, DNA sequencers introduce all sorts of imperfections that are collectively considered "noise." Different sequencers have different noise characteristics. Weissman and his team are developing theory and algorithms for processing the quality scores in a way that reduces the noise and at the same time results in significant compression. Counterintuitive as it might sound at first, they are using lossy compression as a mechanism not only for considerable reduction in storage requirements, but also for enhancing the integrity of the data."But, in fact, it is quite intuitive," Weissman said. "Lossy compression, when done right, forces the compressor to discard the part of the signal which is hardest to compress, namely, the noise."For the full story, visit engineering.stanford.edu/news/making-personalized-medicine-practicalImage credit: Rod Searcey | |||||||||||
45 | The President Awards the National Medal of Science to EE Professor Kailath | Recognized for transformative contributions, distinctive and sustained mentoring of young scholars, and translation of scientific ideas into entrepreneurial ventures | award_faculty | Quoting Electrical Engineering Professor Thomas Kailath at the November 20th awards ceremony, President Obama said, "Scientists are intrinsically hopeful and believe in grand answers, and that if we work hard enough we can find some of them in our lifetime."President Obama also spoke of the importance to encourage a culture of asking questions, discovery and innovation. He pointed out a common thread between the ten awardees was the influence of an encouraging parent or captivating teacher that whet their appetite at a young age. He drew parallels between America's diversity, infrastructure, and the unmatched opportunities at American universities to encourage new ideas which help to transform our world through new businesses and ventures.President Obama referenced Professor Kailath's journey from India to Stanford as an example of the importance of welcoming scholars to America. Kailath joined Stanford's Electrical Engineering department in 1963, researching and teaching in several fields of engineering and mathematics, as well as mentoring more than 100 doctoral and postdoctoral students. The awards committee citation reads, "for transformative contributions to the fields of information and system science, for distinctive and sustained mentoring of young scholars, and for translation of scientific ideas into entrepreneurial ventures that have had a significant impact on industry.""This is indeed a great honor for me, which I proudly share with my students and coauthors," Kailath said in an earlier interview. "I am also grateful for the remarkably supportive environment of the Electrical Engineering department and the University."Read additional stories at the Stanford Report and Whitehouse.gov. A video of the ceremony is also available.Image:www.mercurynews.com | |||||||||||
46 | Professor Fan’s Team invents Photonic Radiative Cooler — a new Energy-saving Material | The new material can help reduce the demand of air conditioning in buildings, and the cold darkness of the Universe can be used as a renewable thermodynamic resource | news_research | Professor Shanhui Fan and interdisciplinary team members from EE, ME, and Applied Physics, reported this energy-saving breakthrough in the journal Nature. Using a thermal photonic approach, the material reflects sunlight and emits heat, demonstrating new possibilities for energy efficiency. The photonic radiative cooler consists of seven alternating layers of hafnium dioxide (HfO2) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) of varying thicknesses, on top of 200 nm of silver (Ag), which are all deposited on top of a 200-mm silicon wafer.The ultrathin, multilayered material can help cool buildings, reducing the need for air conditioning.Read the Nature articleReadStanford Report articleImage: Norbert von der Groebe | |||||||||||
47 | Four EE Faculty elevated to IEEE Fellow | Professors Kozyrakis, Lall, Lee, and Murmann are elevated to IEEE Fellow | award_faculty | Four Electrical Engineering faculty have been elevated to IEEE Fellow. We congratulate each of them for their breakthrough research and advancement of the field.Associate Professor Christos Kozyrakis, for contributions to high-performance, energy-efficient and secure memory systems.Professor Sanjay Lall, for contributions to control of networked systems.Professor Tom Lee, for contributions to the design of CMOS radio-frequency integrated circuits.Associate Professor Boris Murmann, for contributions to the design of digitally-assisted analog integrated circuits.IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. Less than 0.1% of voting IEEE members are selected annually for this member recognition. IEEE Fellows will be formally announced by the IEEE at end of the 2014.Read Stanford Engineering article | |||||||||||
48 | Associate Professor Mitra elevated to ACM Fellow | For contributions to the design and testing of robust computing systems | award_faculty | Associate Professor Subhasish Mitra has been elected Fellow of ACM, "For contributions to the design and testing of robust computing systems." ACM recognizes members for their outstanding accomplishments in computing and information technology and/or outstanding service to ACM and the larger computing community. Recognizing the top 1% of ACM members, Fellow is the most prestigious ACM member grade.Formal recognition of the 2014 ACM Fellows will be at the annual awards banquet in mid-2015. | |||||||||||
49 | 2015 IEEE Founders Medal awarded to Professor James Plummer | For recognition of his transformative contributions to the School of Engineering and to Stanford | award_faculty | Professor James Plummer, the John M. Fluke Professor of Electrical Engineering, received the IEEE Founders Medal, announced at the recent Board of Directors meeting. Professor Plummer's citation reads,"For leadership in the creation and support of innovative, interdisciplinary, and globally focused education and research programs."The IEEE Founders Medal was established by the Institute of Radio Engineers in 1952. It derives its character and purpose from the inspiring example of leadership and service set by the three founders of the Institute: Alfred N. Goldsmith, who was Director Emeritus and Editor Emeritus of IEEE, and Messrs. John V. L. Hogan and Robert Marriott.This purpose is perhaps best expressed by the citation that accompanied the first award, which read in part: "For outstanding contributions to the profession and to the Institute through wise and courageous leadership in the planning and administration of technical developments."The progress of a profession rests not only on the technical abilities of its members, but on the qualities of leadership and dedication that they possess.Please join us in congratulating Professor Plummer for this well deserved recognition, and his transformative contributions to the School of Engineering and to Stanford.Read theStanford Report article.Additional information about the IEEE Founders Medal | |||||||||||
50 | Professor Vuckovic's Powerful Inverse Design Technique via Nanophotonics | Nanophotonics has emerged as a powerful tool for manipulating light on chips. The goal is to transmit data faster and more efficiently via optical rather than electrical signals. | news_research | Published in a recent article in Scientific Reports, Professor Vuckovic and her team present the inverse design technique. As stated in the introduction, the "inverse design concept is simple and extendable to a broad class of highly compact devices including frequency filters, mode converters, and spatial mode multiplexers.""Light can carry more data than a wire, and it takes less energy to transmit photons than electrons," said electrical engineering Professor Jelena Vuckovic, who led the research.In previous work her team developed an algorithm that did two things: It automated the process of designing optical structures and it enabled them to create previously unimaginable, nanoscale structures to control light.Now, she and lead author Alexander Piggott, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering, have employed that algorithm to design, build and test a link compatible with current fiber optic networks.Read the article in Scientific ReportsRead the Stanford Report article | |||||||||||
51 | Alumnus Dr. Spilker is awarded the 2015 IEEE Edison Medal | For contributions to the technology and implementation of civilian GPS navigation systems | news_department | EE alumnus James J. Spilker has been awarded the 2015 IEEE Edison Medal. Spilker received his BS, MS and Ph.D. from Stanford's Electrical Engineering department. Currently, Dr. Spilker is theExecutive Chairman of AOSense,Inc., and a consulting professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 2013, Dr. and Mrs. Anna Marie Spilker dedicated the third of four buildings that comprise Stanford’s Science and Engineering Quad (SEQ).The aim of the IEEE Edison Medal is to recognize "a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering, or the electrical arts.” Dr. Spilker is recognized “for contributions to the technology and implementation of civilian GPS navigation systems.”Dr. Spilker will receive the award at the 2015 IEEEHonors Ceremony.Image: Steve Costillo | |||||||||||
52 | Precourt grants awarded to Professors Hesselink and Rivas-Davila | The Institute's Director stated, "This year's grants support an exciting array of bold, new ideas for advancing energy technology and policy [...]" | award_faculty | Professor Lambertus Hesselink and Assistant Professor Juan Rivas-Davila are two of eight Stanford faculty seed grant recipients. The awards are to assist in new research that promises clean technology and energy efficiency.Assistant Professor Juan Rivas' and his research team will continue exploration of more energy-efficient power supplies. An initial goal is to provide energy-efficient methods to pasteurize liquids like milk and fruit juice. The team's long-range goal is to revolutionize the design and manufacture of power electronics components. The Precourt Institute for Energy awarded Rivas-Davila's grant.Professor Lambertus Hesselink's research will assess and design a method to capture heat waste from computers. His team projects that at least 20% of the waste could be recouped, saving $6 million in electricity per day in the U.S. alone. The Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC) provided this award.Read the full Stanford report article. | |||||||||||
53 | Innovation Leverages Three Breakthroughs | Professor H.-S. Philip Wong and Associate Professor Subhasish Mitra reveal how to build high-rise chips that could leapfrog today's single-story logic and memory chips | news_research | Professor H.-S. Philip Wong and Associate Professor Subhasish Mitra's research team has built a four-layer high-rise chip using carbon nanotubes (CNT) and resistive random access memory(RRAM). The new materials required a new method of connecting them, which were created by EE grad students, Max Shulaker and Tony Wu."This research is at an early stage, but our design and fabrication techniques are scalable," Mitra said. "With further development this architecture could lead to computing performance that is much, much greater than anything available today."Wong said the prototype chip to be unveiled at IEDM shows how to put logic and memory together into three-dimensional structures that can be mass-produced."Paradigm shift is an overused concept, but here it is appropriate," Wong said. "With this new architecture, electronics manufacturers could put the power of a supercomputer in your hand."Read the full articlein the Stanford Report. | |||||||||||
54 | Scientific American features Assistant Professor Wetzstein’s research as a World-Changing Idea | Vision-correcting devices may make eyeglasses unnecessary, creating the possibility that a smartphone or tablet can correct for myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and other vision problems | news_department | In an article titled, "Smartphone Screens Correct for Your Vision Flaws," the December issue of Scientific American features Wetzstein's research with colleagues from MIT and University of California, Berkeley. The articles states, "Informal tests on a handful of users have shown that the technology works, Wetzstein says, but large-scale studies are needed to further refine it. In the process, the researchers also plan on developing a slider that can be used to manually adjust the focus of the screen. Wetzstein says that the technology could be a boon for people in developing countries who have easier access to mobile devices than prescription eyewear."Gordon Wetzstein's research addresses challenges in computational imaging and display and in computational light transport. He received his PhD in computer science from the University of British Columbia in 2011, then worked at MIT's Media Lab as a research scientist and postdoctoral associate before joining the Stanford faculty.Read the complete article from Scientific American. | |||||||||||
55 | |||||||||||||||
56 | |||||||||||||||
57 | |||||||||||||||
58 | |||||||||||||||
59 | |||||||||||||||
60 | |||||||||||||||
61 | |||||||||||||||
62 | |||||||||||||||
63 | |||||||||||||||
64 | |||||||||||||||
65 | |||||||||||||||
66 | |||||||||||||||
67 | |||||||||||||||
68 | |||||||||||||||
69 | |||||||||||||||
70 | |||||||||||||||
71 | |||||||||||||||
72 | |||||||||||||||
73 | |||||||||||||||
74 | |||||||||||||||
75 | |||||||||||||||
76 | |||||||||||||||
77 | |||||||||||||||
78 | |||||||||||||||
79 | |||||||||||||||
80 | |||||||||||||||
81 | |||||||||||||||
82 | |||||||||||||||
83 | |||||||||||||||
84 | |||||||||||||||
85 | |||||||||||||||
86 | |||||||||||||||
87 | |||||||||||||||
88 | |||||||||||||||
89 | |||||||||||||||
90 | |||||||||||||||
91 | |||||||||||||||
92 | |||||||||||||||
93 | |||||||||||||||
94 | |||||||||||||||
95 | |||||||||||||||
96 | |||||||||||||||
97 | |||||||||||||||
98 | |||||||||||||||
99 | |||||||||||||||
100 |