ENG/EFRI
FY 2008 Awards Announcement
SUMMARIES OF THE FY 2008 EFRI PROJECTS
The Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) office
awarded the following 12 grants in FY 2008.
LEARNING FROM THE BRAIN
Four awards fall under the topic Cognitive Optimization and Prediction:
From Neural Systems to Neurotechnology (COPN).
Creating a learning algorithm of the brain
The project “Deep learning in the mammalian visual cortex”
(grant #0835878) will be led by Andrew Ng of Stanford, in collaboration
with Ed Boyden of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Yann
LeCun of New York University, and Yang Dan of the University of
California, Berkeley.
This project will employ high-performing artificial neural network
systems, new models of deep learning from cognitive science, and
new experiments on the visual cortex to begin integrating what is
known about the challenging task of recognizing objects from visual
inputs. The research will involve decisive experiments to test assumptions
about local feedback in the learning system, the results of which
may encourage new computational models of the brain.
Studying neural networks with an innovative patch-clamp
array
The project “Dynamics of neural networks on a planar patch-clamp
array: training, identification, and control” (0835947) will
be led by Russell Tedrake of MIT, in collaboration with Alexandre
Megretski and H. Sebastian Seung of MIT and Hongkun Park of Harvard
University.
This research has the potential to revolutionize in vitro work
on cells by solving technical problems with planar patch-clamp arrays.
(Patch-clamp arrays are tiny electrodes placed within cells that
can describe and control certain cell activities.) If successful,
the new patch-clamp arrays will be able to monitor hundreds of cells
effectively in parallel, a major step towards interfacing with hundreds
of neurons in the brain itself.
A second goal is to develop new, simplified models of living neural
circuits and to train these circuits to address benchmark challenges
that represent the cutting edge of robotics research.
Determining how the brain controls the hand
The project “Reverse-engineering the human brain’s ability
to control the hand” (grant #0836042) will be led by Francisco
Valero-Cuevas of the University of Southern California, in collaboration
with Chang Liu of Northwestern University, Yoky Matsuoka of the
University of Washington, and Emanuel Todorov of the University
of California, San Diego.
The main goal of this project is to understand how to achieve dexterous,
approximately optimal control of a hand by having humans and computers
perform familiar but challenging tasks of manipulating objects.
Researchers will use the same algorithms both to model human motor
control and to go beyond the present state of the art in robotic
manipulation. Dexterous robotic hands have a wide variety of possible
applications in industry, space, and national security. Improved
understanding of how humans learn to optimize hand performance will
also have broader benefits, particularly for the disabled.
Modeling control of the electric power grid on the brain
The project “Neuroscience and neural networks for engineering
the future intelligent electric power grid” (grant #0836017)
will be led by Ganesh Venayagamoorthy of the Missouri University
of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T, formerly University
of Missouri-Rolla), in collaboration with Donald Wunsch of Missouri
S&T, and Ronald Harley and Steve Potter of Georgia Institute
of Technology.
While previous work on living neural networks (LLNs) has focused
on challenges like managing a single control variable, electric
power grids entail thousands of interconnected variables that must
be managed in real-time. The new work in vitro will probe the ability
of LNNs made up of thousands of cells to predict the behavior of
a complicated power grid simulator, and it will test the ability
of new biological learning models to explain their capabilities.
New mathematical concepts for how to cope with such complexity will
also be tested by addressing the same prediction challenge, and
by attempting to apply adaptive, anticipatory control for the first
time to large-scale power grid control in simulation.
BUILDING RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE INTERDEPENDENT INFRASTRUCTURES
Eight awards fall under the topic of Resilient and Sustainable
Infrastructure (RESIN).
Considering air quality and water availability in electricity
production
The project “The interface of infrastructures, markets, and
natural cycles—Innovative modeling and control mechanisms
for managing electricity, water, and air quality in Texas”
(grant #0835414) will be led by David Allen of the University of
Texas at Austin (UT), in collaboration with Michael Webber and Roberton
Williams of UT, and A. Denny Ellerman and Ronald Prinn of MIT.
The project seeks to demonstrate that integrating data on air quality
and water availability into decisions about electricity generation
dispatch can make electricity generation and water supply infrastructures
more sustainable and resilient. Using Texas as a test bed, the researchers
will study, for example, how changes to air quality regulations
and electricity markets affect resiliency and sustainability. This
project’s use of such data provides an opportunity for a paradigm-shift
in the management of water supply and electricity production.
Managing the risk of cascading failures
The project “Assessing and managing cascading failure vulnerabilities
of complex interdependent, interactive, adaptive human-based infrastructure
systems” (grant #0836047) will be led by Robert Bea of the
University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with Berkeley
colleagues John Radke and Karlene Roberts.
The effects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans area have demonstrated
the need to consider many factors besides engineering in the reliability
and performance of interdependent, complex infrastructure systems.
This project aims to develop new, comprehensive risk assessment
and management methods for such systems that will take organizational
and societal factors into account, in addition to physical science
and engineering.
The team will use the flood protection, water distribution, and
power supply systems of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta area—aging
systems that exist in a complex natural and human environment—to
address the probability and consequences of failure. The ultimate
goal is to improve their resiliency and sustainability while preserving
their performance.
Designing infrastructure for biofuels
The project “Interdependence, resilience and sustainability
of infrastructures for biofuel development” (grant #0835982)
will be led by Ximing Cai of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(UIUC) in collaboration with four UIUC colleagues: Atul Jain, Madhu
Khanna, Gregory McIsaac, and Uyang Yanfeng.
The project seeks to develop strategies to sustainably operate
and expand the interdependent infrastructure systems of the emerging
bio-economy. In particular, it will examine the systems used to
develop biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks, including water supply,
energy supply, and transportation, and their vulnerability to natural
events and human factors. This research will answer timely and important
questions as the nation counts on biofuel providing a greater share
of its energy in the future.
Bringing energy and water to urban areas
The project “Sustainable infrastructures for energy and water
supply (SINEWS)” (grant #0836046) will be led by John C. Crittenden
of Arizona State University (ASU), in collaboration with four ASU
colleagues: Samuel Ariaratnam, George Karady, Ke Li, and Charles
Perrings.
How can growing cities ensure a reliable and long-term supply of
water and energy? This project aims to increase understanding of
how urban water and energy infrastructures depend on one another
and will examine the life-cycle implications of different infrastructure
options. Researchers will take into account risks connected to the
infrastructure’s physical and socio-economic environments.
Their overall goal is to maximize the resilience and sustainability
of energy and water infrastructure systems.
Supplying water where it is scarce
The project “Optimization of conjunctive water supply and
reuse systems with distributed treatment for high-growth, water-scarce
regions” (grant #0835930) will be led by Kevin Lansey of the
University of Arizona (UA), in collaboration with four UA colleagues:
Robert Arnold, Guzin Bayraksan, Christopher Choi, and Christopher
Scott.
Planners in Southern Arizona and beyond must make objective decisions
about water systems, such as the use of dual water distribution
systems, the degree of decentralization, and the size and timing
of new facilities. This project will help planners make decisions
that meet growing demands for water while using less energy and
improving water quality. The researchers will develop a tool that
integrates water and wastewater infrastructures and can evaluate
various system configurations in the face of complex, competing
objectives and uncertainty. The tool will optimize for aspects of
sustainability (for example, maintenance costs, depletion of ecosystem
water allocations, and institutional limits on water reuse)—a
critical consideration where water is scarce.
Optimizing energy and transportation infrastructures
The project “21st Century national energy and transportation
infrastructures: Balancing sustainability, costs, and resiliency
(NETSCORE-21)” (grant #0835989) will be led by James McCalley
of Iowa State University (ISU) in collaboration with four colleagues
from ISU: Dionysios Aliprantis, Konstantina Gkritza, Arun Somani,
and Lizhi Wang.
The project aims to formulate optimal energy and transportation
infrastructure designs in terms of future power generation technologies,
energy transport and storage, and hybrid-electric transportation
systems, while balancing sustainability, costs, and resiliency.
The research will also identify and describe interdependencies between
the energy/vehicular transportation systems and the energy resource
portfolio. Outcomes of this research may contribute to a national
blueprint that will drive energy policy, research, and investment
for the next four decades.
Ensuring electricity and communications in a catastrophe
The project “Resilient and sustainable interdependent electric
power and communications systems” (grant #0835879) will be
led by Lamine Mili of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State
University (VT). He will collaborate with Sandeep Shukla and Michael
von Spakovsky of VT, Benjamin Hobbs of Johns Hopkins University,
and Arnold Urken of Stevens Institute of Technology.
When an electric power system fails, it can affect the system’s
own communications networks. This project will develop complex systems
theories to make these interdependent infrastructures more robust,
agile, and sustainable through the use of sophisticated models and
stabilization techniques and the involvement of microgrids, which
may generate power from renewable resources.
Integrating electric vehicles into the grid
The project “A multi-scale design and control framework for
dynamically coupled sustainable and resilient infrastructures, with
application to vehicle-to-grid integration” (grant #0835995)
will be led by Jeffrey Stein of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
(U-M). He will collaborate with Zoran Filipi, Greg Keoleian, and
Huei Peng at U-M and with Mariesa Crow of Missouri University of
Science and Technology.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) link transportation and
electricity infrastructures by using grid electricity to power the
engine and, potentially, by sending stored electricity to the grid
(vehicle to grid, or V2G). How PHEVs are used may affect the sustainability
and resiliency of these infrastructures. The project will quantify
the infrastructure effects of PHEVs and design PHEV power trains
to balance the needs of both infrastructures. Researchers will also
develop power and energy management strategies that take into account
the various roles and interactions of PHEVs and electrical grids.
In particular, it will examine the distributed capacity provided
by V2G integration and the resulting abilities to accommodate renewable
resource intermittency and prevent and recover from catastrophic
failures.
- Cecile J. Gonzalez, NSF, cjgonzal@nsf.gov -
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