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'In undergrad, you sometimes feel like you're just passing classes. But what we're doing here is science.'Dawn of nitride ferroelectric semiconductors
The ability to precisely tune electrical polarization switching through molecular beam epitaxy is a gamechanger
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ECE faculty design chips for efficient and accessible AI
Faculty specializing in architecture, hardware, and software innovation accelerate machine learning across a range of applications.In vivo wireless readings from a bile duct stent sensor in a pig
New magnetoelastic sensor within a stent transmits information about potential blockages, demonstrating potential use for a wide range of body sizes.Zetian Mi awarded $3M DARPA grant to scale next generation semiconductor materials on silicon
Mi's team will partner with industry to integrate defect-free III-V materials with silicon.ECE Spinout company NS Nanotech releases first solid-state semiconductor to produce human-safe disinfecting UV light
NS Nanotech’s new product, enabled by ECE Prof. Zetian Mi’s research, can safely disinfect high-risk spaces like ambulances and school buses.ECE startup MemryX releases MX3 Edge AI Accelerator
MemryX has announced production availability of a new AI chip, enabled by U-M ECE research.An OLED for compact, lightweight night vision
Thinner than a human hair, the device amplifies and converts near infrared light into visible light with the potential for low power consumption and long battery life.Pei Zhang will contribute to a new NSF Center for Insights into the Pre-Emergence Phase of Pandemics
Prof. Zhang will develop sensor systems to model the movement and risk factors of animal populations in disease spread as part of the interdisciplinary NSF center.Updating the textbook on polarization in gallium nitride to optimize wide bandgap semiconductors
Understanding the phenomenon underpinning the material’s electronic performance will inform the design of smaller, faster and more efficient electronic and quantum devices.Wei Lu named James R. Mellor Professor of Engineering
Lu is internationally renowned for his pioneering efforts in the development and commercialization of novel electrical devices, specifically memristors for memory and logic applications.Auto industry deadlines loom for impaired-driver detection tech, U-M offers a low-cost solution
As the comment period closes on the new federal requirement, a U-M team led by Prof. Mohammed Islam demonstrates that upgrades to current technologies could do the jobShubham Mondal receives SVCF Scholarship to support his research in semiconductor materials
Mondal works to improve the operation of electronic and optoelectronic devices using III-Nitride based semiconductor materials.Improving generative AI models for real-world medical imaging
Professors Liyue Shen, Qing Qu, and Jeff Fessler are working to develop efficient diffusion models for a variety of practical scientific and medical applications.Neural Collapse research seeks to advance mathematical understanding of deep learning
Led by Prof. Qing Qu, the project could influence the application of deep learning in areas such as machine learning, optimization, signal and image processing, and computer vision.Improving the accuracy and applicability of large language models, like ChatGPT
Prof. Al Hero’s new method, which enhances the reliability of predictive models and promises to reduce the risk of AI hallucinations, was selected as a spotlight paper at NeurIPS 2023.Nextgen computing: Hard-to-move quasiparticles glide up pyramid edges
Computing with a combination of light and chargeless excitons could beat heat losses and more, but excitons need new modes of transportShaping the quantum future with lightwave electronics
The semiconductor-compatible technology is a million times faster than existing electronics and could give us access to an entire new world of quantum phenomena.U-Michigan a partner in two CHIPS Act Midwest microelectronics hubs
The latest DoD funding announcements bolster Michigan Engineering’s efforts to support revitalization of the U.S. semiconductor sector.Semiconductor workforce program increases access to hands-on training
'In undergrad, you sometimes feel like you're just passing classes. But what we're doing here is science.'Aline Eid seeks to better perceive the world using a 5G Wireless Power Grid
Prof. Eid is looking to design the future of smart cities and infrastructures using ultra-low power wireless sensing and communications technologies.Organic photovoltaics offer realistic pathway to power-generating windows
A new fabrication process greatly improves the reliability of highly-efficient semi-transparent solar cells, which can be applied to windows to generate solar power.Parag Deotare awarded DURIP grant to probe exciton energy transport at nanoscale
The tool is expected to advance the study of exciton dynamics, which could help identify new research directions for clean energy and information technology.Scalable method to manufacture thin film transistors achieves ultra-clean interface for high performance, low-voltage device operation
Led by Prof. Becky Peterson, the research focuses on a category of materials important for low power logic operations, high pixel density screens, touch screens, and haptic displays.Open-source hardware: a growing movement to democratize IC design
Dr. Mehdi Saligane, a leader in the open-source chip design community, was among the first researchers to fabricate a successful chip as part of Google’s multi-project wafer program.New non-invasive optical imaging approach for monitoring brain health could improve outcomes for traumatic brain injury patients
The SCISCCO system could better monitor brain and organ metabolism, helping to diagnose concussions, monitor cerebral metabolism in traumatic brain injury patients, and gauge the response of organs to treatments in an operating or emergency room scenario.Miniature and durable spectrometer for wearable applications
A team led by P.C. Ku and Qing Qu have developed a miniature, paper-thin spectrometer measuring 0.16mm2 that can also withstand harsh environments.Best paper for a low-power ADC circuit for brain-machine interface applications
Euisik Yoon’s team, led by Sungjin Oh, developed a low-power neural recording front-end circuit to interface with state-of-the-art neural probes.Jesse Codling wins Best Presentation award for sensors that help protect these little piggies in their pens
Known affectionately as “The Sh*tty Project,” Codling, an ECE PhD student, monitors the vibrations in pig pens to track the health of the piglets and predict when they’re in danger.Mike Flynn named Fawwaz T. Ulaby Collegiate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Flynn is one of the world’s premier scholars of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), and other interface circuits.Breakthrough in green micro-LEDs for augmented/mixed reality devices
Prof. Zetian Mi’s team are the first to achieve high-performance, highly stable green micro-LEDs with dimensions less than 1 micrometer on silicon, which can support ultrahigh-resolution full-color displays and other applications.Seeing electron movement at fastest speed ever could help unlock next-level quantum computing
New technique could enable processing speeds a million to a billion times faster than today's computers and spur progress in many-body physics.CHIPS and Science Act: Implications and Opportunities
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 promises to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry. Dennis Sylvester offers his perspective on what it means for ECE.Next generation neural probe leads to expanded understanding of the brain
The hectoSTAR probe, with 128 stimulating micro-LEDs and 256 recording electrodes integrated in the same neural probe, was designed for some stellar brain mapping projectsEster Bentley receives Impact award for her research with the goal of GPS-free navigation
Bentley presented her research as an NDSEG Fellow. She is working to make smaller, more affordable high accuracy navigation-grade gyroscopes.Toward manufacturing semitransparent solar cells the size of windows
A peel-off patterning technique could enable more fragile organic semiconductors to be manufactured into semitransparent solar panels at scale.Solar-powered chemistry uses carbon dioxide and water to make feedstock for fuels, chemicals
Producing synthesis gas, a precursor of a variety of fuels and chemicals, no longer requires natural gas, coal or biomass.2022 IEEE APS R. W. P. King Award recognizes new theory in computational electromagnetics
Patel and Michielssen developed the Wigner-Smith time delay matrix for electromagnetics.Emulating impossible “unipolar” laser pulses paves the way for processing quantum information
Quantum materials emit light as though it were only a positive pulse, rather than a positive-negative oscillation.Overcoming the efficiency cliff of red micro-LEDs for virtual/augmented reality
Prof. Zetian Mi leads a team that created highly-efficient red micro LEDs suitable for augmented and virtual reality.Kang G. Shin recognized with Distinguished Leadership Award by IEEE Computer Society Technical & Conference Activities Board
His work in the area of real-time computing has spanned decades and has had impact in a broad range of applications.Graphene-hBN breakthrough to spur new LEDs, quantum computing
Study uncovers first method for producing high-quality, wafer-scale, single-layer hexagonal boron nitrideNew textbook provides hands-on guide for learning about chaotic dynamics and electronic circuits
The book was co-authored by ECE Master's student Wesley Joo-Chen Thio and Professor Emeritus Julien Sprott of U Wisconsin.Touheed Anwar Atif awarded Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship for his research on quantum information and quantum computing
Atif’s coding framework addresses quantum information network coding problems and has helped uncover new insights into the world of quantum information.Ashley Jian receives Barbour Scholarship to further her research on high-power electronics
Jian works to improve the efficiency of high-power electronics for better energy security and sustainability.Subhajit Mohanty awarded Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement
Mohanty’s research is focused on advancing high electron mobility transistors for next generation wireless technologies.Ashley Jian awarded Marian Sarah Parker Prize from the College of Engineering
Jian’s research is focused on improving the efficiency of high-power electronics, which is important for energy security and sustainability.ECE alum Mihir Sheth receives Young Innovator Award from Innovate UK for making a medical device that weans patients off ventilators quicker
Sheth is the co-founder of Inspiritus Health and has developed a simple to use, non-invasive medical device that keeps patients’ muscles engaged when they are on a ventilator to prevent muscle atrophy.‘Exciton surfing’ could enable next-gen energy, computing and communications tech
A charge-neutral information carrier could cut energy waste from computing, now that it can potentially be transported within chips.New understanding of neurons in the hippocampus: they’re all the same
A longstanding collaboration between engineers and neuroscientists leads to new insights into how neurons work in the hippocampus.Quantum tech: Semiconductor “flipped” to insulator above room temp
Discovery could pave the way to high speed, low-energy quantum computing.Research full speed ahead on manufacturable III-V materials for next-generation electronics
A recent breakthrough in ferroelectric III-V semiconductors at the University of Michigan has been followed by several advancements and new funding to bring the technology closer to market.Batteryless next-generation cellular devices could empower a more sustainable future
PhD student Trevor Odelberg is looking to enable long range, highly reliable, and low-power cellular IoT devices that one day can run entirely on harvested energy, reducing battery waste and empowering devices to last for decades.Egg-carton-style patterning keeps charged nanoparticles in place and suitable for a wide range of applications
Prof. Jay Guo and his team discovered a scalable way to settle down and precisely arrange micro- and nano-sized particles according to sizeElaheh Ahmadi receives DARPA Young Faculty Award to support future sensor and communication systems
Ahmadi’s research is focused on using GaN and Ga2O3 materials to provide higher output power per unit area at higher frequencies.$1 Million DARPA contract to empower the wireless systems of the future
Prof. Elaheh Ahmadi is working to design a new kind of semiconductor that can provide high power at high frequenciesMichigan startup MemryX, Inc. promises faster, cheaper AI processing
The ECE startup builds neuromorphic computer chips uniquely suitable for AI applicationsNanotech OLED electrode liberates 20% more light, could slash display power consumption
A five-nanometer-thick layer of silver and copper outperforms conventional indium tin oxide without adding cost.Thomas Wenisch selected as Maurice Wilkes Award Recipient
The award recognizes Prof. Wenisch’s contributions to memory persistency and energy-efficient systems.
Dawn of nitride ferroelectric semiconductors for next-generation electronics
The ability to precisely tune electrical polarization switching through molecular beam epitaxy is a gamechanger
Profiles in ECE: Rucha Apte (MS ECE 2021)
From the internships that inspired her interest in signal & image processing and machine learning to late night study sessions at the Duderstadt to her background in classical dance, Master’s student Rucha Apte shares her journey with us.
ECE Lab Kit team recognized by the College of Engineering with the Team Staff Excellence Award
When the pandemic shut down in-person instruction, this six-member team created and delivered individual lab kits to 1,200 students around the world so hands-on lab experience could continue.3D motion tracking system could streamline vision for autonomous tech
Transparent optical sensor arrays combine with a specialized neural network in new University of Michigan prototype
Pei Zhang solemnly swears that he’s up to some good
In a project he calls the “Marauder’s Map,” Prof. Zhang uses machine learning-based data models, physics models, and heuristic models to turn physical structures into sensing devices.
Research to advance low-power speech recognition highlighted by Intel
Michael Flynn and his group are applying their groundbreaking work in beamforming to the challenge of low-power on-chip speech recognition.“Egg carton” quantum dot array could lead to ultralow power devices
By putting a twist on new “2D” semiconductors, researchers have demonstrated their potential for using single photons to transmit information.
Elaheh Ahmadi receives CAREER Award to improve efficiency in high power electrical systems
The research could improve efficiency in systems such as electric vehicles, grid systems, mass transit, and industrial automationDemba Komma awarded Microsoft Research Ada Lovelace Fellowship for research on IoT localization technologies
Komma, a PhD student, is working to develop robust low powered localization technology for Artificial Intelligence enabled Internet of Things in locations where GPS is limited or blocked.
Mapping quantum structures with light to unlock their capabilities
Rather than installing new “2D” semiconductors in devices to see what they can do, this new method puts them through their paces with lasers and light detectors.
Tracking Monarch Butterfly Migration with the World’s Smallest Computer
In a project funded by National Geographic, ECE researchers are teaming up with the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology to advance our understanding of monarch butterfly migration with the most ambitious iteration of the Michigan Micro Mote yet.
Burn after reading
A self-erasing chip for security and anti-counterfeit tech.
Coordination and collaboration are critical to U.S. leadership in plasma science: a Q&A with the Plasma 2020 Decadal Study co-chair
Plasma science has the potential to speed advances in medicine, energy, electronics and more—including helping us deal with pandemics.
Full-color nano-LEDs for better, longer lasting LED performance
Research led by Prof. Zetian Mi to advance LEDs for high-efficiency, high-performance displays is recognized with the Distinguished Paper Award from the Society for Information Display.
Autonomous well monitoring solution recognized with a Best Innovators award
The WAND wireless sensor developed in a collaboration between Total, an oil & gas company, and the University of Michigan is revolutionizing well monitoring
U-M startup NS Nanotech unveils new generation of LEDs for high-efficiency, high-performance displays
Brighter, crisper screens that draw half the power and lasts twice as long are possible with NS Nanotech’s next-gen LEDs.
Making plastic more transparent while also adding electrical conductivity
Michigan Engineers change the game by making a conductive coating that’s also anti-reflective.
ADA Center holds 2020 symposium with virtual attendance, highlighting new research into computer design
The symposium highlighted new developments in computer architecture, and included a session on how the center's research can contribute to limiting the impact of pandemics.
“Ultra low-power receivers for IoT applications” wins Outstanding Invited Paper
Prof. David Wentzloff’s paper examining the trends and techniques to achieve ultra-low power receivers was honored by the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference
Elaheh Ahmadi receives ONR Young Investigator Award to prepare for the next generation of wireless technology
Prof. Ahmadi will contribute to the science and technology of efficient, high-frequency, high-power transistors for 5G and beyond
Zhanni Wu awarded Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship
Wu is working on advanced metasurfaces, which could help next-generation wireless communication, commercial and military radar systems, imaging, and antenna systems.
Small, precise and affordable gyroscope for navigating without GPS
Accurate gyroscopes are a bottleneck for backup navigation systems in autonomous vehicles.
Hessam Mahdavifar receives CAREER award to empower next gen communication
Mahdavifar is preparing for a future of billions of connected devices and an unprecedented increase in mobile traffic.
Best paper award for optimizing wireless power transfer
Prof. Al-Thaddeus Avestruz and PhD student Xin Zan were honored at the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition for their work improving the efficiency and reliability of wireless power transfer.
David Blaauw named Kensall D. Wise Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Blaauw’s innovations in low-power computing led to development of the Michigan Micro Mote, the world’s smallest computer.
A 3D camera for safer autonomy and advanced biomedical imaging
Researchers demonstrated the use of stacked, transparent graphene photodetectors combined with image processing algorithms to produce 3D images and range detection.
Hun-Seok Kim receives CAREER Award to facilitate Internet of Things connectivity
Kim takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackle challenges in heterogeneous classes of energy-efficient and versatile communication systems.
‘Green methane’ from artificial photosynthesis could recycle CO2
A catalyst on a solar panel can make methane, the main component of natural gas, with carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.
Creating a place where kids of all abilities can play together
Prof. Hun-Seok Kim helped design iGYM, an augmented reality system that allows disabled and able-bodied people to play physical games together.
Enabling large-scale testing of cancer drugs with machine learning
Prof. Euisik Yoon and his team developed a new machine learning tool that enables large-scale testing of cancer drug effectiveness with microfluidics.
Beyond Moore’s Law: taking transistor arrays into the third dimension
Thin film transistors stacked on top of a state-of-the-art silicon chip could help shrink electronics while improving performance.
Wireless Communication Under the Sea
U-M researchers have created a new means of enabling reliable wireless underwater communication, which could aid military, environmental, and conservation purposes.
Elaheh Ahmadi receives AFOSR Young Investigator Program award
Prof. Ahmadi will investigate promising new materials needed for an increasingly electrified world
Jamie Phillips named Director of the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility
Phillips – who specializes in optoelectronic devices for next generation infrared detectors, solar cells, and thin film electronics – shares his goals for the 13,500 sq. ft. state-of-the-art cleanroom facility.
Two ‘U’ researchers receive Distinguished University Innovator Award
The Michigan Daily profiles Professors David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester, who are this year’s recipients of the 2019 Distinguished University Innovator Award.Blaauw, Sylvester are 2019 Distinguished University Innovators
Pioneering computer technology that is spurring innovation and disruption across industries has earned David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester, professors of electrical engineering and computer science, this year’s Distinguished University Innovator Award.
Channel Coding for Next Generation 5G and Beyond
With the help of two NSF awards totaling $1.7m, Prof. Hessam Mahdavifar is tackling new problems to improve the reliability of communication systems for 5G and beyond.
The new quantum spurs action by the Michigan Quantum Science & Technology Working Group
The new working group showcased Michigan’s strength in Quantum Science at a workshop attended by researchers throughout the University of Michigan.
First programmable memristor computer aims to bring AI processing down from the cloud
Circuit elements that store information in their electrical resistances enable a brain-like form of computing, storing and processing information in the same place.
Afshari group receives Best Invited Paper award at the 2019 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference
Terahertz and sub-terahertz imaging can provide superior results in some biomedical imaging, spectroscopy, and water saturation detection.
A high-efficiency GaAs solar cell to power the Internet of Tiny Things
The Michigan Micro Mote gets a new gallium arsenide solar cell for added power and adaptability.
SLAM-ming good hardware for drone navigation
Researchers built the first visual SLAM processor on a single chip that provides highly accurate, low-power, and real-time results.
Blood biopsy: New technique enables detailed genetic analysis of cancer cells
Capturing cancer cells from blood samples offers a non-invasive way to observe whether the cancer is disappearing or whether it is becoming resistant to the treatment.
Communicating with the world’s smallest computers
Researchers built the first millimeter-scale transmitter and antenna that can talk Bluetooth Low Energy with ease.
Biopsy alternative: “Wearable” device captures cancer cells from blood
New device caught more than three times as many cancer cells as conventional blood draw samples.
A new $1.6M energy project to develop low cost manufacturing of white organic lighting
Prof. Stephen Forrest is developing an automated high-yield roll-to-roll process to manufacture organic LEDs for lighting.
More efficient machine vision technology modeled on human vision
Prof. Robert Dick and advisee Ekdeep Singh Lubana developed a new technique that significantly improves the efficiency of machine vision applications
Toward brain-like computing: New memristor better mimics synapses
Competition and cooperation, which regulate the strengthening and weakening of connections in the brain, can now be modeled directly.
Miniature satellites to maximize global communication
Havel Liu is working on a project to revolutionize satellite systems, improving communications during natural disasters and providing a blueprint for receiving future interplanetary voicemails
A new company, Omniscent, is sniffing out dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in the air
Subscription service offers real-time monitoring
U-M researchers develop small device that bends light to generate new radiation
This device, the size of a match head, can bend light inside a crystal to generate synchrotron radiation in a lab.
It takes two photonic qubits to make quantum computing possible
Professors Ku and Steel are applying their expertise to take key next steps toward practical quantum computing
Conducting an orchestra of sensor nodes
Keeping time in the Internet of Things with frequency scaling
Solving impossible equations
Eric Michielssen has discovered a new way to rapidly analyze electromagnetic phenomena, and it’s catching on.
Blue Sky and Research Accelerator Initiatives fund solar fuel and high-power research
Memory-processing unit (MPU) could bring memristors to the masses
AI, weather forecasting and data science would all benefit from computers that store and process data in the same place. Memristors could be up to the task.
Beyond Moore’s law: $16.7M for advanced computing projects
DARPA’s initiative to reinvigorate the microelectronics industry draws deeply on Michigan Engineering expertise.
Michigan chips will be first to test next-generation hardware design tools
U-M team will serve as model for nimble and innovative system-on-chip design.
A new hybrid chip that can change its own wiring
The speedy and efficient system-on-chip could unify wireless communication.
Enabling anyone to design hardware with a new open-source tool
Six-month hardware design process will be turned into 24-hour automated task.
Hun-Seok Kim receives DARPA Young Faculty Award to advance research in IoT networks
Kim’s research is expected to impact the future design and wireless operation of the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices
An even smaller world’s smallest ‘computer’
The latest from IBM and now the University of Michigan is redefining what counts as a computer at the microscale.
How to color-code nearly invisible nanoparticles
With a bit of metal, nanoparticles shine in colors based on size.
Light could make semiconductor computers a million times faster or even go quantum
Electron states in a semiconductor, set and changed with pulses of light, could be the 0 and 1 of future “lightwave” electronics or room-temperature quantum computers.
Semiconductor breakthrough may be game-changer for organic solar cells
Buildings, clothing could generate power.
New $32M center reimagines how computers are designed
‘You shouldn’t need a Ph.D. to design new computing systems.’
A shoe-box-sized chemical detector
Powered by a broadband infrared laser, the device can zero in on the ‘spectral fingerprint region’.
U-M, Cavium partner on Big Data research computing platform
The new partnership will provide scalable storage and an analytic software framework available to all U-M researchers.
$7.75M for mapping circuits in the brain
A new NSF Tech Hub will put tools to rapidly advance our understanding of the brain into the hands of neuroscientists.
Next-gen computing inspired by biology
New memristor chips can see patterns over pixels.
Transparent Silver: Tarnish-proof films for flexible displays, touch screens, metamaterials
A little silver goes a long way to improving touchscreens, displays, and much more
Ultrashort light pulses for fast “lightwave” computers
Extremely short, configurable “femtosecond” pulses of light demonstrated by an international team could lead to future computers that run up to 100,000 times faster than today’s electronics.
Michigan’s millimeter-scale computers featured at ISSCC2017, and in IEEE Spectrum
Professors Blaauw and Sylvester showcase capabilities of tiny computing
Becky Peterson receives NSF CAREER Award for research in amorphous semiconductors for next generation electronics
In this project, Prof. Peterson will develop new alloys of amorphous oxide semiconductors with precisely tuned semiconductor energy band structures, in order to enable new categories of electronic and opto-electronic devices.
A fantastic voyage: ERC for WIMS
The first-ever Engineering Research Center in Wireless Integrated Microsensing and Systems has forged advances in many fields.
Ushering in the next generation of flat-panel displays and medical imagers
Prof. Kanicki expects breakthroughs in both the flat-panel display and imager industries using his-ITZO TFT technology in the near future.
CubeWorks: Solving problems with the world’s smallest and lowest-power computers
Cubeworks receives its first external funding to manufacture millimeter-scale computing devicesThe Michigan Probe: Changing the Course of Brain Research
Some believed early Michigan brain researchers were engaging in “science fiction” – until development of an advanced tool for forging breakthroughs proved them wrong.
Parag Deotare receives AFOSR Award for research in Nanoscale Exciton-Mechanical Systems (NEXMS)
Prof. Deotare’s work will deepen our understanding of the underlying physics of exciton-mechanics interactions and help engineer novel devices for energy harvesting and up-conversion.
Leaders in neuroscience look to the future
ICAN bring engineers and neuroscientists together to review the recent advancement in neurotechnology and neuroscience, define the need for next-generation tools, and enhance the translation of technology to the scientific community.
Injectable computers can broadcast from inside the body
This platform has enabled a variety of sensors that can fit inside the human body, made possible by several breakthroughs in ultra-low power computing.
Injectable computers
With a radio specifically designed to communicate through tissue, researchers from the Electrical and Computer Engineering are adding another level to a computer platform small enough to fit inside a medical grade syringe.
Novel collaboration to probe brain activity in unprecedented detail
A pilot program will bring together researchers from different universities to collaborate on advancing research that may lead to a better understanding of the human brain.
Pressure-sensing smartphones: Software lets mobile devices feel force
New software developed by CSE engineers and inspired, in part, by a Batman movie, could give any smartphone the capacity to sense force or pressure on its screen or body.
Making Memory Smaller, Better, Faster, Stronger
Prof. Wei Lu and former student Dr. Sung Hyun Jo co-founded Crossbar, Inc. to tackle the physical limitations of conventional memory technology.
Lights Out
The power goes out. The aurorae stretch to the tropics. Could a major solar storm mean a year without electricity?
Emmett Leith
Inventor of Practical HolographyA better 3D camera with clear, graphene light detectors
While 3D films are currently made using multiple cameras to reconstruct each frame, this new type of camera could record in 3D on its own.
Passwords, privacy and protection: Can Apple meet FBI’s demand without creating a ‘backdoor’?
Prof. H.V. Jagadish sheds light on current issues regarding data privacy and technology.
MBus is the missing interconnect for millimeter-scale systems
The M3 is a fully autonomous computing system that acts as a smart sensing system.
Necmiye Ozay receives CAREER award for research in cyber-physical systems
Cyber-physical systems are smart, networked systems with embedded sensors, processors, and actuators that are designed to interact with the physical world.
Googling the physical world
IoT applications are the next wave of computing and the next driving force of the semiconductor industry. The startup PsiKick [now Everactive] is helping shape this future.
Mapping the brain: probes with tiny LEDs shed light on neural pathways
The new probes can control and record the activity of many individual neurons, and are believed to be the smallest implantable LEDs ever made.
Researchers Receive NSF/Intel Award to Develop Visual Recognition System for Wearable Devices
The researchers are finding a solution to implement state-of-the-art vision systems in wearable devices where there is little heat dissipation
$5M for international neurotechnology “dream team”
A “dream team” of experts in sensors, electronics, data analysis and neuroscience has been awarded a $5 million grant to help unravel the mysteries of the brain and cross-train a group of internationally-connected neuroscientists and engineers.
Art-inspired solar cells
Kirigami could be the key to flat, lightweight solar cells that can track the sun across the sky.
New Michigan-Saudi Arabia collaboration promises exciting new research – beginning with the auto industry
KACST will provide manpower and will collaborate with Michigan faculty and students on their projects.
What makes cancer cells spread? New device offers clues
Why do some cancer cells break away from a tumor and travel to distant parts of the body? A team of oncologists and engineers from the University of Michigan teamed up to help understand this crucial question.
Mobile Friendly – apps to improve life
Technology continues to transform the health care industry, and researchers at the University have utilized mobile apps to expand the impact of their work.
Elnaz Ansari earns Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement
Her research interests include analog, digital, and mixed-signal designs.
Michigan Micro Mote (M3) makes history as the world’s smallest computer
A brief history of what led to the technical feat known as the Michigan Micro Mote, a tiny speck of a computer that does it all.HiJack Enables a Smartphone Dongle for Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases
HiJack is a hardware/software platform that utilizes the headset jack on a smartphone as a universal power/data interface.
Wei Lu editor of new book – Semiconductor Nanowires: From Next-Generation Electronics to Sustainable Energy
The book is part of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Smart Materials series.
Student Spotlight: Kyusang Lee: A leader in flexible solar cell technology
Kyusang developed an innovative new fabrication technique to build lightweight, flexible devices not possible with conventional silicon.
Becky Peterson awarded DARPA Young Faculty Award to investigate new materials for power semiconductor devices
Prof. Peterson’s findings could be used in wireless sensing and actuation systems, including those that deal with monitoring of the environment and medical conditions.
Mapping the brain with lasers
Yoon is leading a team that will design new light sources with lasers capable of zooming in on individual neuron circuits within the brain.
Student Spotlight: Tal Nagourney – Exploring navigation
Tal is researching fabrication techniques for a micro rate-integrating gyroscope, using a vacuum mold and blowtorch.
Fighting lung cancer: Faster image processing for low-radiation CT scans
This advance could be important for fighting lung cancers, as symptoms often appear too late for effective treatment.
Shared Memory in Mobile Operating Systems Provides Ingress Point for Hackers
Researchers demo hack to seize control of municipal traffic signal systems
Can our computers continue to get smaller and more powerful?
Wakefield and Kieras win Best Paper Award at ICAD 2014
The paper addresses how to manage multiple sources so that the user can maximize the information gained from each acoustic source.
Metal particles in solids aren’t as fixed as they seem, new memristor study shows
The findings show, for the first time, exactly how some memristors remember.
A new way to make laser-like beams using 250x less power
With precarious particles called polaritons that straddle the worlds of light and matter, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated a new, practical and potentially more efficient way to make a coherent laser-like beam.
Making smartphones smarter: hijack adopted for use in commercial product
Leaders in ultra low power cicuits and systems presenting at VLSI Circuits Symposium
All of the research being presented focuses on getting the absolute best performance from the tiniest circuits, sensors, and electronic devices.
Listening to bipolar disorder: smartphone app detects mood swings via voice analysis
Heartbleed: behind the scenes at CSE
New tech could lead to night vision contact lenses
The detector developed by University of Michigan engineering researchers doesn’t need bulky cooling equipment to work.
Transparent color solar cells fuse energy, beauty
The cells, believed to be the first semi-transparent, colored photovoltaics, have the potential to vastly broaden the use of the energy source.
What are quantum computers going to do for us?
Michigan Engineering professor Duncan Steel explains how quantum computing works, using quantum bits that take on superpositions of 0 and 1 simultaneously.
Karem Sakallah Continues Commitment to Qatar Computing Research Institute
Making the Internet of Things happen
Wentzloff aims to remove the necessity of a power outlet or even a battery to power miniature sensors.
Image processing 1,000 times faster is goal of new $5M contract
Lu plans to design and fabricate a computer chip based on so-called self-organizing, adaptive neural networks.
Faster, more powerful mobile devices: U-M startup Crossbar could disrupt the memory market
RRAM is a new form of nonvolatile memory that has the potential to replace the flash memory commonly used in tablets, digital cameras and solid-state drives.
When GPS fails, this speck of an electronic device could step in
The research group developed special fabrication processes that allows them to stack and bond seven different devices in layers.
Security risks found in sensors for heart devices, consumer electronics
A new laser paradigm: An electrically injected polariton laser
“It is no longer a scientific curiosity. It’s a real device.”
Advancing secure communications: A better single-photon emitter for quantum cryptography
The new device improves upon the current technology and is much easier to make.
Researchers funded to develop a leap forward in Processor Architectures
The project proposes to produce a parallel heterogeneous 3D near-threshold computing system with unprecedented energy efficiency.
Scientific Milestone: A room temperature Bose-Einstein condensate
A BEC is an unusual state of matter in which a group of boson particles can exist in a single quantum state, allowing scientists to observe novel quantum phenomena.
Next-Gen E-Readers: Improved peacock technology could lock in color for high-res displays
The research could lead to advanced color e-readers, more energy efficient electronic devices, and improved data storage and cryptography.
David Wentzloff receives CAREER Award for research in energy-autonomous systems
His research addresses critical needs in the area of wireless communication for the growing field of ubiquitous, energy-autonomous sensing devices.
Zhaohui Zhong receives CAREER Award for research in graphene-based optoelectronics
The use of graphene-based hot carrier optoelectronics is the key novelty of Prof. Zhong’s research.
Super-fine sound beam could one day be an invisible scalpel
“We believe this could be used as an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery,” Guo said. “Nothing pokes into your body, just the ultrasound beam.”
James McCullagh receives Best Student Paper Award for research to keep bridges safe
McCullagh is working to develop energy harvesting devices and circuits to power wireless sensor nodes which can monitor bridge health.
Seunghyun Lee takes the gold for all-graphene flexible and transparent circuit
Lee believes that graphene will play a pivotal role in realizing high speed, mechanically compliant, and transparent electronic systems in the future.
Nathan Roberts earns Best Paper Award for research to assist in remote patient monitoring
Roberts is helping to develop low-power sensor nodes that will be worn on the body to detect certain medical conditions.
Students compete to create game-playing bots in weekend programming contest
Developing the wireless component for personalized health devices
The program aims to create wearable systems that monitor a person’s environment and health in search of connections between pollutants and chronic diseases.
Combining flexible, transparent electronics with high speed communications for the first time
Prof. Zhaohui Zhong and his team of graduate students have built the first flexible, transparent digital modulator for high speed communications.
UG Research Spotlight: Fred Buhler spends his summer improving circuit testing
The project involved designing new boards and writing test software, as well as writing software to control instruments and some integrated circuit design.
Todd Austin and colleague author new edition of book on structured computer organization
Nano-origami project combines art and engineering to further technology
With an origami-like approach, manufacturers could use existing machinery to make high-tech “paper” that can be folded into the desired device.
Duo of CSE Alums Form and Grow Security Company in Ann Arbor
Serial entrepreneur Dug Song (CS BS 1997) and recent alum Jon Oberheide (CSE PhD 2011) founded security firm Duo Security in early 2010 and have rapidly grown their company to serve over 500 customers in 40+ countries around the world.
Student Research: Amit Patel earns prize in IEEE AP-S Student Paper Competition for antenna research
The method can be useful in the design of low-profile antennas integrated into body panels of vehicles.
Research Spotlight: Sensors and actuators for portable microsystems
Though a number of research challenges remain to realize the potential of microdischarge-based devices, the authors’ work demonstrates their promise.
J. Alex Halderman to Teach Course on Electronic and Internet Voting through Coursera
The 5-week course will provide the technical background and public policy foundation that today's citizens need to understand the electronic voting debate.Artificial synapses could lead to advanced computer memory and machines that mimic biological brains
“This hybrid circuit is a critical advance in developing intelligent machines.”
Next-generation computer memory firm receives U-Ms first startup investment
Crossbar is developing a new nonvolatile memory technology that will offer unprecedented density and power improvements in tomorrow’s electronics.
A smarter way to make ultraviolet light beams
The researchers have optimized an optical resonator to take an infrared signal from relatively cheap telecommunication-compatible lasers and boost it to an ultraviolet beam.
‘Perfect black’ coating can render a 3D object flat, raises intriguing dark veil possibility in astronomy
The carbon nanotube carpet is about half the thickness of a sheet of paper and absorbs 99.9 percent of the light that hits it.
David Blaauw Elected Fellow of the IEEE
Prof. Blaauw was a core member of the Michigan team that developed the award-winning circuit known as Razor in 2003.New method for building a low-cost, high-performance electric machine and drive could result in huge energy savings
Prof. Hofmann intends to design, build and test a 30kW brushless, self-excited synchronous field winding prototype machine that overcomes the weaknesses of the current technology.
Colored solar cells could make display screens more efficient
Professor Jay Guo has developed the reflective photovoltaic color filter device that can convert absorbed light to electricity.
Laura Freyman awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Freyman is studying Electrical Engineering and is a member of the Michigan Integrated Circuits Laboratory.
Powering breakthrough technologies
Ambiq Micro could revolutionize ubiquitous computing, with energy-efficient microcontrollers that are 10 times more energy efficient than conventional microprocessors.
New laser could treat acne with telecom technology
The laser could treat acne by targeting the oil-producing sebaceous glands, which are known to be involved in the development of the skin disease.
Making smart dust a reality
This research is expected to have a fundamental and long term impact on a diverse set of applications ranging from energy conservation to health care.
Using imprint processing to mass-produce tiny antennas could improve wireless electronics
The antenna is typically the largest wireless component in mobile devices, and shrinking it could leave more room for other gadgets and features.
A minimally-invasive brain implant to translate thoughts into movement
The implant is called the BioBolt, and unlike other neural interface technologies that establish a connection from the brain to an external device such as a computer, it’s minimally invasive and low power.
Most powerful millimeter-scale energy harvester generates electricity from vibrations
The researchers have built a complete system that integrates a high-quality energy-harvesting piezoelectric material with the circuitry that makes the power accessible.
Toward computers that fit on a pen tip: New technologies usher in the millimeter-scale computing era
U-M faculty have developed what is believed to be the first complete millimeter-scale computing system, with applications in radio communication and wireless sensing.
Xi Chen and Prof. Robert Dick receive DATE Best Paper Award
The authors analyzed performance and accuracy for a variety of dynamic thermal analysis techniques and used their findings to develop a new analysis technique. Congratulations!
Paving the way for ubiquitous computing
Until now, ubiquitous computing has been hampered by the size of necessary batteries—but Ambiq Micro is changing that, with their energy-efficient micro-controllers.
New equation could advance research in solar cells
A groundbreaking new equation could do for organic semiconductors what the Shockley ideal diode equation did for inorganic semiconductors.Zhengya Zhang earns Best Paper Award at Symposium on VLSI Circuits
The resulting 65nm CMOS test chip achieved an energy efficiency of 21 pJ/bit making it a promising candidate for low-power, high-performance applications.
Ambiq Micro: Taking a startup to the next level
“Imagine a microprocessor so tiny and long lasting that it can be implanted in the eye of a glaucoma sufferer to measure the progress of the disease.”
Millimeter-scale, energy-harvesting sensor system developed
The system could enable new biomedical implants as well as home-, building- and bridge-monitoring devices.
Mini generators make energy from random ambient vibrations
The energy-harvesting devices are highly efficient at providing renewable electrical power from arbitrary, non-periodic vibrations.
Duncan Steel will advance quantum information processes in new MURI
Steel will concentrate his efforts on solid state systems, specifically with epitaxially grown InAs/lGaAs semiconductor quantum dots.
Sensing Sensors: NSF Funding News Ways to Monitor Infrastructure for Safety
The program aims to develop revolutionary wireless sensor node, optimized for infrastructure monitoring.EECS researchers receive Best Paper Award at ISLPED
The paper explores logic and memory circuit topologies for a new type of transistor in development at IBM.
Smart bridges under development with new grant
The monitoring system will collect data from surface and penetrating sensors, then wirelessly relay the information to an inspector on site or miles away.
University of Michigan Office of Technology to showcase inventions
Guo’s computer chip imprinter is one of more than 300 inventions that researchers disclosed last year to U-M’s Technology Transfer office.