Spotlight
Welcome to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department’s digital magazine, showcasing the accomplishments and journeys of our students, faculty, and staff.
Department Head’s Note
It is my pleasure to introduce this new digital format for our annual Spotlight publication. This enables us to include more news and events and to enhance and elaborate on the stories from our ECE community with immersive content.
This past year has presented many unusual challenges for the world and our country. The COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted our lives, and in the process laid bare increasing racial and political conflicts. Alongside the societal impacts, the pandemic forced sudden and extensive changes in the operation of the university, on-going research projects, and the delivery of education. Though these challenges continue, I am proud and encouraged by the way our students, staff, faculty, and alumni have stepped up to this challenge.
I believe the starting point for addressing the increasing conflict that we see is to continue to encourage each other to live up to our stated values: no one should be made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe because of their opinions, beliefs, ethnic or racial background, gender, sexual orientation, or sexual identity. Our state and country are deeply divided, and I believe our best strategy for continuing to grow our economy and improve opportunity and quality of life is for us to listen to and respect each other, and to work together toward common goals.
As our society charges forward into this new decade, the challenges that we face are not solely of a societal identity but supercharged by a world of change and opportunity. As engineers, we have the obligation and privilege to address these challenges head-on, finding solutions to the problems of today, and preparing for the problems of tomorrow. At NC State, continuing to strengthen and promote world-class engineering education while harnessing groundbreaking research is of the utmost importance, and I’m confident in our accomplishments this past year.
This issue of Spotlight features some of the exciting activities, achievements, and recognitions of our NC State ECE community. These stories include tales from our rapid move to online operation in the spring of 2020; a senior design team working with a non-profit in Uganda to design a security system for rural community lighting; profiles of outstanding new faculty members; research news such as our work with Delta Airlines and Anthem on quantum computing; faculty awards including the recognition of Mo-Yuen Chow as the recipient of the 2020 IEEE Industrial Electronics Society Achievement Award; and alumni accomplishments such as astronaut Christina Koch’s records for the longest spaceflight for a woman and the first all-female spacewalk. We also pay our respects to two valued members of our ECE community that we lost during this past year: Tony Mitchell, Assistant Dean Emeritus; and Bob Kolbas, Professor Emeritus, former department head, and namesake for the Kolbas ECE MakerSpace. They touched countless lives and will be sincerely missed.
I hope you will enjoy these stories, and that they will help you feel a part of our extended ECE Wolfpack family.
Dr. Daniel D. Stancil
Department Head, ECE
In this Spotlight
Low-Cost Cameras Could Be Sensors to Remotely Monitor Crop Stress
Being able to identify crop problems early can make the difference between saving a crop and losing it, but high-tech solutions can be costly. An interdisciplinary team is leveraging existing technology for a solution.
Delta Air Lines and Anthem Health Join NC State’s IBM Q Hub
The world’s largest global airline and the leading health benefits company join the IBM Q Hub at NC State, as part of a multi-year quantum computing collaborative effort with IBM.
Researchers Develop Faster Way to Replace Bad Data With Accurate Information
A new model from ECE and the ARO could aid in displacing false information about anything from computer security to public health.
Better Predicting the Unpredictable Byproducts of Genetic Modification
How a new model may pave the way for more efficient research in the fields of genetic modification and forestry.
A Smarter Dog Collar
Wearable data collection systems being developed in the College are empowering guide dog trainers and making a costly, time-consuming process more efficient
Researchers Incorporate Computer Vision, Uncertainty into AI for Robotic Prosthetics
Lobaton’s lab leverages AI to create a software integration for existing hardware to enable people using robotic prosthetics to walk in a safer, more natural manner on different types of terrain.
Neural Interface System for Somatosensory Feedback
NC State’s Yaoyao Jia has been chosen to lead one of the new collaborative NSF programs, with a million-dollar grant aimed at improving our understanding of somatosensory feedback with the help of a cat.
Research Advances Learning Capability of Drone Swarms
Researchers, including Aranya Chakrabortty, have developed a reinforcement learning approach that will allow swarms of unmanned vehicles to accomplish various missions while minimizing performance uncertainty.
New Data Processing Module Makes Deep Neural Networks Smarter
AI researchers from NC State ECE—including Tianfu Wu—have improved the performance of deep neural networks by combining feature normalization and feature attention into a single module.
The Insider on Undergraduate Research
Hear from Britanya Wright, one of ECE’s seniors and Goodnight Scholars as she recounts her journey or curiosity beyond the classroom while undertaking undergrad research in the NNF.
Seeking to Change the Stigma in STEM
As a sophomore in ECE, Lauren White knows how difficult it can be adjusting to college. As a female member of the LGBTQ community from out of town, the task of fitting in seemed extra daunting…
Master’s Student Gives Back Making PPE
Harley Leroy , an ECE Master’s student is hard at work in the Entrepreneurship Garage leveraging 3D printers to make PPE face shields for front-line workers.
Senior Design Teams Present
With Design Day on the horizon, one team got to present its work-in-progress to its sponsor at the Fall Industry Meeting of CAPER in Charlotte.
Adapting to Online: A Remote Master’s Defense
ECE Master’s student Ryan Spurney learned to pivot to a [successful] remote defense in just two weeks with committee member Cranos Williams.
Teaching ECE from the Living Room
As classes shift entirely online for the remainder of the semester, ECE faculty shift into high gear to leverage online tools and adapt (sometimes even household items) to dramatically different teaching needs.
Remembering Tony Mitchell, Asst. Dean Emeritus
We fondly remember Tony Mitchell, Assistant Dean of Engineering (emeritus) and Associate Professor of ECE who sadly passed away on April 1, 2020.
Remembering ECE Department Head Dr. Robert Kolbas
ECE remembers Dr. Robert Kolbas, and exemplary teacher, department head, and a force behind the ECE MakerSpaces.
Welcoming New Faculty
ECE is proud to announce the addition of four new members of our faculty to bolster the stellar research and teaching going on in the department—welcome to the Pack!
Engineering a More Inclusive Campus
Timothy Humphrey ’96 recently created two endowments with one extraordinary goal: promoting opportunities to create a more diverse, inclusive campus.
Alumni Co-Owned Startup Allows Contractors to Monitor Job Sites Remotely
A pain-point noted by an ECE alumnus facing the construction industry that led to the launch of a new venture – Bedrock Wireless, a company aimed to bring data-forward solutions to construction sites.
ECE Alums Attribute Entrepreneurial Roots to Engineering Entrepreneurs Program
After a decade of projects, two NC State ECE alumni and serial Triangle entrepreneurs announced $4.7 million in seed funding for their technology venture, Allstacks.
Christina Koch Completes 328-Day Mission on Space Station
At 4:12 a.m. EST on February 6, 2020, in a remote corner of Kazakhstan, Christina Koch completed her 328-day mission on the International Space Station and set a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman. Koch, a three-time graduate of NC State...
Alumna receives Skip Ellis Early Career Award
Tawana Dillahunt, a computer engineering alumna and associate professor at the University of Michigan named the inaugural recipient of the CRA-WP Skip Ellis Early Career Award.
Krim Honored with IEEE SPS Sustained Impact Paper Award
Congratulations to Dr. Hamid Krim, selected for the 2019 IEEE SPS Sustained Impact Paper Award—Two Decades of Array Signal Processing Research: The Parametric Approach.
Bozkurt and Floyd Named University Faculty Scholars
Congratulations to professors Alper Bozkurt and Brian Floyd, named University Faculty Scholars for their significant academic achievements and contributions to the university.
Aysu receives NSF CAREER Award
Congratulations to Dr. Aysu for receiving an NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) for his ongoing cryptographic and deep learning research!
Daniele Recipient of 2020 Outstanding Global Engagement Award
Congratulations to Michael Daniele, a 2020 recipient of the NC State Global Engagement Award for his vast collaborations, as well as his work with the SensUs international competitions.
Chow Receives 2020 IEEE IES Achievement Award
Congratulations to Dr. Mo-Yuen Chow, 2020 recipient of the IEEE IES Mittelmann Achievement Award, recognizing his substantial technical contributions and leadership with industrial electronics technologies
Aysu and Ozturk Recipients of ECE Faculty Awards
ECE is proud to announce that Aydin Aysu and Mehmet Ozturk are the 2020 recipients of the Departmental Faculty Awards — the Bennet Faculty Fellow Award and the William F. Lane Outstanding Teaching Award.
Yaoyao Jia Wins IEEE Best Paper Award
Congratulations to Yaoyao Jia, winner of Best Paper award from IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems for her work on mm-sized wireless implantable opto-electro stimulation devices.
Where We Are
Rankings according to ASEE
#8
University in the U.S. for
Electrical Engineering
According to ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking 2020
#6
Best Value among Public Universities Nationally
According to U.S. News & World Report
21
National Science Foundation CAREER Award Recipients
63
Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty
About Spotlight
Once a year, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering issues forth a magazine detailing the major news and events concerning the department that has occurred in the previous year.
Starting in 2020, we have taken that magazine into a digital experience, to better showcase the wide range of activities in the department, and more effectively give voices to those involved.
