Florida State University has recognized four faculty members with the Developing Scholar Award, which honors the research contributions and creative work of associate professors.

Faculty were nominated by their respective academic departments. The awards, sponsored by the Council on Research and Creativity, include funding to promote the awardee’s program of research and creativity.

“Congratulations to these faculty members for their outstanding work and this well-deserved recognition,” said Vice President for Research Stacey S. Patterson. “FSU is proud to celebrate their accomplishments and to support them in their scholarship.”

Robert Tomko, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine
Tomko studies the structure and function of a protein system called the ubiquitin-proteasome system and its role in normal and disease states. His laboratory works on the scale of individual proteins up to whole cells and integrates approaches spanning biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, structural biology, proteomics, biophysics and pharmacology. His goal is to identify new targets for treatment and to develop pharmacological modulators with potential therapeutic benefits.

Elizabeth Cecil, Department of Religion, College of Arts and Sciences
Cecil examines text, images, monuments and landscapes to investigate the history of Hindu religions across South and Southeast Asia. She is the primary research collaborator in the European Research Council PURANA project and co-editor-in-chief of the open-access journal PURANA Media. At FSU, she contributes to the Native American and Indigenous Studies Center and is co-director of the More-than-human Religion project, which explores the agency of nonhuman forces, entities and ecologies.

Aaron Wilber, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
As a faculty member in FSU’s Program in Neuroscience, Wilber researches the brain dynamics that allow us to derive a sense of location from a body-centered view of the world — how we get oriented in space so we can navigate our environment and understand what goes wrong when this system fails. His research examines how these brain systems participate in learning and memory and how neural networks are altered by mental and memory disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Yanshuo Sun, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Sun uses mathematical modeling and optimization methods to improve the planning, operations and management of transportation systems. His work touches several areas of transportation, including public transportation, freight transportation, airports, economics and transportation data analytics. Recent projects have examined how to improve the efficiency of on-demand mobility services in rural areas, the effects of fare capping for public transportation and how to strengthen data capabilities through academia-industry partnerships.

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Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are using artificial intelligence to create new tools that can help find defects in powder-based 3D printing for a $2.2 million project supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, or AFOSR.

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, holds the potential to transform manufacturing and prototyping. Powder-based fabrication is a 3D printing method in which material in powder form is bonded together to create solid functional parts.

In a project led by Hui Wang, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, FAMU-FSU engineers will collaborate with researchers at Pennsylvania State University and HP Inc. to use combinatorial generalization, or CG, to improve the accuracy of models used for predicting defects in 3D printing.

“Combinatorial generalization represents a computational reasoning capability that supports next-generation AI by mimicking human recognition behavior that generates new knowledge from data,” Wang said. “It is exciting to use this emerging technology to solve difficult manufacturing puzzles.”

The project is focused on binder jetting, a 3D printing technique that uses a liquid binder to stick powdered materials together. The technique is essential for creating high-performance components with intricate geometries and is capable of higher productivity than other metal printing technologies.

WHY IT MATTERS
Powder-based fabrication is used in many industries, including aerospace, automotive, health care and the military to make complex metal components.

One of the challenges in powder-based fabrication is understanding how the material becomes porous, or filled with tiny holes, a common defect resulting from powder spread and powder-droplet interactions.

To solve the problem, the researchers will use the developing artificial intelligence tool combinatorial generalization, which can empower the AI to make inferences on new scenarios given piecewise knowledge learned from multiple data sources.

An example of CG in people might be a designer who draws inspiration from existing work to create something entirely new or a doctor who analyzes a patient’s symptoms and medical history to recognize patterns that suggest a specific illness, even if they haven’t encountered the exact case before. The approach showcases how existing knowledge and patterns can lead to innovative solutions in additive manufacturing.

By recognizing patterns and relationships, the project promises to deliver innovative CG tools to investigate defects that are typically difficult to detect. The potential benefits extend beyond manufacturing with system maintenance and cybersecurity applications.

“This technology could democratize manufacturing, making it easier for inexperienced manufacturers to advance from lab testing to large-scale production,” Wang said.

COLLABORATION AND STUDENT SUCCESS
The research led by Wang’s team significantly benefits from graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty collaborators Tarik Dickens and Rebekah Downes from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. Jun Zeng, who leads the Physics AI engine group in the additive manufacturing R&D Lab at HP Inc., and Penn State University Professor Jingjing Li are also collaborators on this initiative.

Funding from the AFOSR will help the researchers obtain essential experimental materials and small-scale testing equipment for the college. The Penn State research team is providing essential simulations and XCT data modeling to support FAMU-FSU engineering researchers.

In partnership with HP Inc., the initiative is on target to provide essential training and development opportunities, including access to data from HP’s 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence, high-performance computing resources and student internships. In addition, FAMU-FSU doctoral and undergraduate students have served as HP interns.

NEXT STEPS
The project shows the potential of interdisciplinary work that brings together expertise in industrial and manufacturing engineering with the new capabilities offered by artificial intelligence.

“AFOSR programs in computational mathematics and physical sciences are actively seeking novel solutions in machine learning for scientific discovery, and our project aligns well with this vision,” Wang said. “We expect that our discoveries will significantly enhance the ability of Department of Defense researchers to efficiently leverage a variety of data sources and expedite the development of new manufacturing processes and materials. It’s exciting to see what lies ahead and where this research will take us in the future.”

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Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering will pioneer advanced composite materials and manufacturing technologies critical for future space missions through a $5 million grant from NASA.

“Imagine while on a space mission having the ability to print sensors, radiation shields or even functional tissues as the mission progresses,” said Professor Subramanian Ramakrishnan from the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. “This capability could change the space exploration paradigm, making missions more sustainable and adaptable to unforeseen challenges.”

The NASA grant was given to researchers from seven institutions. Florida A&M University will administer the grant on behalf of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.

Researchers will partner with faculty at Florida State University, including Richard Liang from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and Emily Pritchard from the FSU Office of the Provost. They will also work with Satyanarayan Dev from FAMU and Margaret Samuels from the Goddard Space Flight Center. Each has expertise in developing a system that can produce precise sensor patterns, integrating sensing materials and electrodes in a single step.

Ramakrishnan’s team mainly focuses on creating innovative materials. They are developing unique 2D materials called MXenes and metallic and semiconducting nanoparticles to develop special inks for 3D printing in space.

“These advanced inks are used to print everything from sensors that detect gases and strain, to antennas, radiation shielding and flexible electronic circuits,” Ramakrishnan said. “They are especially important for 3D printed materials used on space missions.”

In-space manufacturing (ISM) aims to transform how we create components for space. The vision is to empower astronauts to manufacture what they need in orbit, making missions more sustainable and efficient rather than relying on materials and tools sent from Earth.

These distinctive materials have exceptional structural, physical and chemical properties, making them perfect for various applications, including energy storage, sensors, optoelectronics and even biomedical uses. They are crucial for space exploration but also have unique properties for specialized materials on Earth.

INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION
Ramakrishnan’s group wants to utilize lunar and Martian soil — also known as regolith — to create special inks that can be 3D printed into functional structures for future missions to Mars and the Moon.

“This system has the critical capability for us to complete the manufacturing of precise sensor patterns (both sensing materials patterns and electrode and connection patterns) in a single step to ensure high-quality of device integration and on-demand design and manufacturing,” Ramakrishnan explained.

The researchers have developed a new technique called electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing. This method uses electric fields to precisely print nanoparticles, which can be used to create flexible electronic sensor applications.

“By combining this printing technique with laser curing we can rapidly manufacture the sensors and speed up the manufacturing process,” Ramakrishnan said. “This streamlined approach is crucial for future space missions, especially when working on the International Space Station (ISS).”

NEXT-GENERATION PRINTING
In addition to the NASA grant, Ramakrishnan is leading a project funded by a $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support purchasing specialized equipment designed for 3D printing on curved surfaces. Florida A&M University acquired an advanced nScrypt 6-axis 3D printing system that can create intricate designs tailored to various shapes, especially for applications in aerospace and medical devices.

“We are experimenting with innovative ink formulations and techniques,” Ramakrishnan said. “The equipment is helping us produce new and exciting next-generation sensors for NASA.”

The state-of-the-art printer can precisely dispense materials, allowing researchers to develop complex structures that conform to different surfaces.

BIOMATERIALS FOR SPACE
Co-Director and Assistant Professor Jamel Ali from the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at the college is leading research efforts to understand how human cells self-assemble in microgravity environments, such as those found on the Moon and Mars. His group is looking into the behavior of 3D-printed tissues in space to enhance therapeutic cell expansion and regenerative medicine. He works with collaborators, including researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, who work closely with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on these pioneering projects.

His research group works with biomaterials and non-biomaterials to create guidelines that address the unique challenges of 3D printing on curved surfaces. This work could lead to innovations that go well beyond space exploration. They plan to incorporate electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing techniques to develop semiconducting nanomaterials tailor-made for NASA’s needs.

IMPACTING THE FUTURE OF MATERIALS SCIENCE
The potential outcomes of the research extend far beyond NASA missions. The novel sensors, tissues and organs that have been developed could revolutionize fields like biomedicine and materials science, providing solutions that address pressing health challenges and contributing to the advancement of technology in various sectors.

With NASA’s backing and the integration of cutting-edge research practices, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is poised to play a pivotal role in the future of space exploration. This initiative represents a critical step in fostering sustainable operations for exploration missions, ensuring we can harness technology to meet our needs in real time.

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Graduate students in the joint college’s systems engineering master’s program can now graduate with valuable INCOSE certification

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In everything from electronics in cars to the components of commercial airliners are state-of-the-art 3D-printed materials. Their strength and properties depend on what they’re made of and how they’re made.

Inside Tarik Dickens’ lab at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, researchers are fine-tuning the tools used in 3D printing, helping to create better, stronger materials for a wide variety of applications.

“We’re about to cross the threshold of the first quarter of the 21st century, and we’re going to need a lot more personalized products and structures and the ability to be able to create structure and devices on the fly,” Dickens said. “It’s not going to be like the previous 60 years of industrialized research where you’re experimenting with something for multiple years. You need to be able to have an initial idea of something and then have the prototype and the end product in one.”

3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, makes that possible.

Dickens started his research career developing multifunctional composite materials, which are made of two or more substances combined to create a new material with added functionality. Examples range from simple combinations, such as reinforced concrete or plywood, to state-of-the-art ceramic composites used in jet engines. By combining multiple substances in novel ways, scientists can create new materials with specially selected properties of interest.

Additive and digital manufacturing offer new ways to develop composite materials, which is now the focus of Dickens’ research.

For example, some 3D printed plastics have small pieces of metal inside. Dickens developed a small magnetic device that can rotate nanoparticles within fluid suspensions during 3D printing to adjust properties such as strength — research that is part of the National Science Foundation’s Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology Center program. His group has a patent on this device setup and is working on other assisted-printing apparatuses.

“The goal is to make what we call multimaterial and multifunctional structures commonplace in additive processing,” he said. “These multifunctional structures have different applications and endpoints. For these materials, it was about embedding some dielectric properties and capabilities to enable electromagnetic shielding and interference. They also can have structural applications to actually strengthen the structure that you’re trying to create.”

A paper by Dickens, graduate student Abdullah Al Noman and postdoctoral researcher Balaji Krishna Kumar published last year in Virtual and Physical Prototyping examined the state of additive manufacturing and the emerging technique of field-assisted additive manufacturing, which uses things like magnets, acoustics or electricity to fine-tune printing.

By using magnetic nanomaterial combined with a nonmagnetic material, printers can create a composite with fibers oriented in a certain direction, allowing for a final product with specific strength properties. The research team examined different combinations of wire or powder as printing material, finding the ratio that yielded maximum strength and flexibility.

3D printing research, like the techniques being developed by Dickens, could be used to create custom models or rapid prototypes for a wide variety of applications. As additive manufacturing continues to develop, engineers are working to make the technology more available.

“What if you could wake up every morning and have a new car?” Dickens said. “I’m a car lover. I would love to wake up and drive a Ferrari one day and a Maserati the next. In that sense, one future direction for additive manufacturing is like the computer itself. We now have computers in every household. If you had a 3D printer in every household, that would be like technology out of ‘Star Trek.’”

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Fitness trackers, smartwatches and other wearable devices are popular ways to monitor and manage personal health. Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are helping advance that technology by developing soft and stretchable electronic components that improve measurement accuracy, hold a charge longer and offer more comfort for users.

Their research was published by the American Chemical Society’s journal Applied Materials and Interfaces.

“Most health monitoring devices are rigid, but human tissue is soft,” said study co-author Zhibin Yu, an associate professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. “Our health monitoring system can comfortably adhere to the human body and accurately monitor cardiovascular variables better than what is on the market today.”

HOW IT WORKS:
Wearable devices use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to project light onto human tissues and a photodiode to detect the light. The intensities and waveforms of this interaction correlate to cardiovascular changes in the body. Many of these devices use rigid LEDs and photodiodes embedded in a stiff material like a watchband. The researchers have developed a soft, stretchable photodiode, embedded in an elastic polymer matrix, as an alternative.

“The new photodiode fits securely on the skin because it is soft and pliable like our bodies,” said Pengsu Mao, the study’s lead author. “It gives the user a more precise cardiovascular reading over time.”

WHY IT MATTERS:
Better health monitoring leads to better health outcomes. The device could improve  diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases and make health care more accessible by providing accurate home testing. Health care systems worldwide are stressed, and precise testing will provide more resources to serve the aging population.

WHO’S INVOLVED:
Pengsu Mao, Haoran Li, Xin Shan, Melissa Davis and Zhibin Yu are researchers from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. The group works with Yan Xin, a researcher at the FSU-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and Te Tang, a researcher from the Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience at Florida State University.

Yugang Zhang and Xiao Tong from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratories and Jiang Cheng and Lu Li from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, China, are also working with the team.

WHERE IS FUNDING COMING FROM:
Grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the National Science Foundation, the State of Florida, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory support this research.

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Two researchers in the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are winners of prestigious National Science Foundation early-career awards that celebrate emerging leaders in their fields.

Juyeong Choi, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Lichun Li, an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, received Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, Awards and will receive a five-year grant from the NSF.

“We are extremely proud of the research these two faculty members have accomplished,” said Richard Liang, interim associate dean for research and graduate studies. “The NSF award allows researchers to grow and push boundaries and bring more student successes to the college and universities.”

Choi received the award for his work developing sustainable waste management practices in building demolition. He is leading a research team to investigate the impacts of decisions made by various stakeholders across a building’s lifecycle on material use, reuse and recycling. Choi plans to develop a holistic approach to maximize recyclable and reusable material yields by harvesting sustainable material during the demolition.

“I am humbled and honored to receive this award,” he said. “I am grateful to my family for their unwavering support and my colleagues at the department and the Resilient Infrastructure and Disaster Response (RIDER) Center for their advice and encouragement.”

Li is investigating innovative methods to integrate artificial intelligence, control theory and game theory to provide efficient computation algorithms handled on a typical computer. The idea is to make it possible to fight intelligently and efficiently against cyberattacks and rapidly deploy resources in the latest ultra-dense computer networks.

“I am very thankful to have recognized and received the NSF grant,” Li said. “We will add the topic of video game development into a freshman course and provide early research opportunities to undergraduate students, especially female students. This will help support STEM initiatives as well.”

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Research to improve 3D printing algorithms, develop better materials for measuring radiation and test the effectiveness of steroid treatments all received funding from a Florida State University program that supports faculty interested in transforming their academic work into commercial ventures.

FSU’s Office of the Vice President for Research awarded faculty members more than $132,000 through the Fall 2022 GAP Commercialization Investment Program.

“FSU faculty are producing exciting research results, and this program helps them expand the reach of their work by supporting their efforts to move from the lab to the market,” said Vice President for Research Stacey Patterson. “This funding is a tool to help them bridge that gap.”

Funded proposals were: 

A simple test for evaluating the effectiveness of steroid treatments: Millions of patients use steroids for a variety of medical issues, including treatment of skin tumors known as keloids, which are benign but can affect quality of life. Only about 34% of patients who receive steroids for keloids show improvement. About half don’t respond to treatment, and some patients even show worsening symptoms. Akash Gunjan, an associate professor in the College of Medicine, developed a test that uses cheek swabs to determine how likely patients are to improve from steroid treatment. Previous GAP funding helped Gunjan complete preliminary rounds of this project, and the latest funding will allow him to advance this work. 

New materials for measuring radiation doses: In nuclear facilities and hospital radiology rooms, workers wear radiation dosimeters to measure how much radiation they are absorbing. Cancer treatments also use dosimeters to make sure patients are receiving a proper dose. But existing materials used for some dosimeters require rare Earth materials and high-temperature processing to deliver a product that is rigid rather than flexible. Biwu Ma, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is developing a dosimeter that can be created at room temperature and uses low-cost materials without lead or rare Earth materials. His invention is also flexible, making it useful for applications in which a rigid material isn’t suitable, and it allows for real-time readings of radiation doses.

Career-readiness modules for university students: Employers want workers who have the skills needed to contribute to their teams. To that end, Florida State University’s Career Center has developed the “ProfessioNole Ready” program to develop skills such as communication, critical thinking, professionalism and others that are crucial to career success. Kyle Roark, senior assistant director of Career Advising, Counseling and Instruction at the center, will use GAP funding to lead the development of a version of ProfessioNole Ready that is customizable for other universities.

Improved 3D printing algorithms: 3D printing allows manufacturers to quickly develop prototypes or even to build functional parts. Using a 3D printer requires balancing conflicting needs: Printing too fast leads to defects inside the finished part but printing too slowly means productivity may be too low to meet demands. Hui Wang, an associate professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, is developing software that will help 3D printers lay down their materials in a uniform manner, which decreases internal defects. His algorithms helped printers reach the same quality as slower methods 30% faster during testing.

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