Lab and Group Spotlights

Communications & Signal Processing


Center for Bioimage Informatics
Professor B.S. Manjunath


Brain Science has attracted the attention of many biology research groups around the world. With recent advances in imaging, it is possible to harvest large amounts of image data through in vitro and in vivo procedures at multiple scales. As a result the need to develop computational techniques that help biologists interpret the data is crucial.

The Center for Bio-Image Informatics is an interdisciplinary research effort between Biology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Statistics, Multimedia and Engineering. The overarching goal of the center is the advancement of human knowledge of the complex biological processes which occur at various resolutions. To achieve this core objective, the center employs and develops cutting edge techniques in the fields of imaging, pattern recognition and data mining for analyzing data using different modalities.

  • Coarse Resolution: to analyze Magnetic Resonance Imaging (millimeter resolution) data to understand the morphology and functionality of the human brain better. Discriminative data analysis methods are employed for getting an understanding of regions that get affected due to a certain condition (e.g., psychopathy).
  • Intermediate Scale: techniques to understand the distribution of neuronal spines from confocal images (micrometer resolution) are presented. Statistical modeling of the spine distributions before and after treatment could yield valuable insights into alterations of spine behavior as a result of the treatment (with micro RNA in our case).
  • Finest Level: we develop methods to help biologists work with electron micrograph data (sub-nanometer resolution). Segmentation methods employing conditional random fields with learned topological priors helps trace neuronal processes over depth.

Professor Manjunath's:

Wireless Communications and Sensornets Lab
Professor Upamanyu Madhow


Our lab’s main focus is on new system concepts and architectures for wireless communication and sensor networks, with smaller efforts in areas such as multimedia security and neuroimaging. Some examples of recent and ongoing research efforts are as follows:

  • 60 GHz networking: The large amounts of unlicensed bandwidth available in the 60 GHz band enable a quantum leap in wireless communication, to multiGigabit speeds, but the small carrier wavelength (order of magnitude smaller than WiFi) and the high data rates (order of magnitude higher than WiFi) create unique design challenges. Examples of recent work include interference analysis and medium access control protocols for networks with highly directional links, signal processing with constraints on analog-to-digital conversion, space-time channel modeling, and prototypes demonstrating spatial multiplexing in line-of-sight environments.
  • Collaborative communication and signal processing: Examples of recent work include collaborative beamforming, where multiple transmitters form a distributed antenna array to increase range and power efficiency, and collaborative signal estimation, where multiple sensors pool observations to better reconstruct a common signal seen through different dispersive channels at different sensors.

Our research often involves interdisciplinary collaborations, since we tackle hard problems requiring diverse expertise. Current collaborators include faculty from computer science, controls, electronics, and psychology.

Professor Madhow's:

Systems Bioimaging Lab
Professor Michael Liebling


We pursue research on optical microscopy, image processing and image analysis to study biological systems.

Our group develops optical microscopy procedures to image live samples at high framerates and over extended periods of time. In particular, we study the development of dynamic organs, such as the heart in zebrafish embryos, with high temporal and spatial, single-cell, resolution.

A central aspect of our lab is the tight integration of image processing (3D-reconstruction, noise reduction, alignment) and image analysis (tracking, flow estimation) algorithms into our image acquisition system, so as to increase the amount of information extracted from images while limiting the invasiveness of the imaging procedure.

Professor Liebling's:

Computer Engineering


Nanoelectronics Research Lab
Kaustav Banerjee, Professor


The Banerjee group focuses on various aspects of nanoelectronics research, including fundamental physics, electrical and thermal modeling, robust circuit/architecture design, as well as nanomaterial synthesis and nanostructure/device fabrication. Work in the Nanoelectronics Research Lab (NRL) falls into one of the following areas:

  • Carbon Nanoelectronics: Physics, technology, and applications of graphene and carbon nanotubes in electronics, energy harvesting /storage and bio/medicine
  • Green Electronics: Sub-kT/q devices such as tunneling-FETs and NEMS; ultra low-voltage circuit and system design
  • Nano-Devices & 3-D ICs: Emerging CMOS technologies such as FinFET and Nanowire-FET; innovative digital and memory devices; 3-D heterogeneous ICs; device-circuit interactions
  • Nanoscale Interconnects: Ultra high-frequency modeling/extraction for VLSI interconnects and passive elements; exploration of emerging interconnect/passive structures and technologies

Professor Banerjee's:

Novel Electronic Devices and Computing Systems Laboratory
Professor Dmitri Strukov


Research Focus:

  • Novel electronic devices with a particular focus on resistive switching effects
  • Circuit design for novel electronic devices
  • Emerging architectures for computing and design automation

Particular Focus - CMOL Technology:

The basic idea of CMOL circuits (standing for Cmos + MOLecular-scale devices) is to combine the advantages of the CMOS technology including its flexibility and high fabrication yield with those of ultra dense stackable crosspoint devices, e.g. those based on resistive switching phenomena. The nanoscale devices are naturally incorporated into the crossbar fabric enabling very high functional density at acceptable fabrication cost. In particular, CMOL circuits are especially suitable for digital memories, reconfigurable computing and bio-inspired signal processing.

Professor Strukov's:

Wireless Networking Lab
Professor Volkan Rodoplu


Research Interests: Wireless Communications and Networking with a research focus in:

  • Protocol Design and Optimization for Wireless Networks
  • Quality of Service in Mobile Networks
  • Energy-Efficient Wireless Sensor and Ad Hoc Networks

Professor Rodoplu works on design and optimization of wireless systems and networks. He is interested in working with undergraduate and M.S. students with strong backgrounds in either 1) Mathematical modeling or 2) Programming.

Professor Rodoplu's:

Control Systems


Networked Control Laboratory
Professor João Hespanha


As computers, digital networks, and embedded systems become ubiquitous and increasingly complex, one needs to understand the coupling between logic-based components and continuous physical systems. This prompted a shift in the standard control paradigm — in which dynamical systems were typically described by differential or difference equations — to allow the modeling, analysis, and design of systems that combine continuous dynamics with discrete logic. This new paradigm is often called hybrid, impulsive, or switched control.

While some of our work on hybrid systems is of a theoretical nature, it is motivated by several high-impact application areas:

  • Network Control Systems (NCSs) are spatially distributed systems in which the communication between sensors, actuators and controllers occurs through a shared band-limited digital communication network. NCSs have been finding application in a broad range of areas such as the automotive and aerospace industries, mobile sensor networks, remote surgery, automated highway systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
  • Cooperative control of autonomous agents refers to the control of ground, aerial or aquatic robots so as to perform tasks that require a significant amount of information gathering, data processing, and decision making, without explicit human control. These tasks include environmental monitoring, search and rescue operations for disaster response, law enforcement activities, crop monitoring and spraying, etc.
  • Systems biology seeks to understand living organisms by modeling and analyzing the complex interactions of genes, proteins, and other cell elements. A key goal of systems biology is to transform the methodology used for drug discovery by guiding the search for effective treatments for diseases.

Professor Hespanha's:

Robotics Lab
Professor Katie Byl


Research Interests: Robotics, Dynamics, Locomotion, Control, Autonomous Systems, Learning

In our lab group, we study the interplay between passive dynamics and active control in achieving two of the most fundamental challenges in autonomous robotics: locomotion & manipulation.

The three central applications on which we are currently focused are: rough-terrain legged locomotion; maneuverable flapping-wing and rotary flight; and variable-compliance manipulation.

Our overall approach in all work involves developing simplified dynamic models, deriving control laws for achieving particular motions and limit cycle behaviors, and predicting and optimizing reliability. This last aspect is both critical and challenging, because robots in real-world environments are typically subject to significant underactuation and stochasticity. By contrast, the classic study of robotics is founded on having well-characterized and deterministic ("robotic") behaviors from our machines.

Within robotics, our work essentially focuses on the mid-level control problem of getting a desired dynamic response for a body's overall motion through exploitation of both physical impedance (i.e., stiffness, mass and damping) and active control. We invite academic and industry collaboration on both higher-level tasks, such as vision or motion planning, and on low-level problems, such as variable-impedance actuation, real-time control platforms, or novel sensing solutions.

Professor Byl's:

Electronics & Photonics


Optoelectronics Research Group
John Bowers, Professor


The Bowers group develops new optoelectronic components and photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for advanced fiber optic communications networks and optical interconnects. Our focus is on integrating optimum waveguiding materials, which do not interact strongly with light, with materials better-suited for active components. Most of this research falls into one of the following two areas:

  • Silicon photonics: the hybrid silicon photonic platform combines the optical properties of III-V materials and germanium with the low material loss and low cost of silicon. Our group has demonstrated high-performance components such as continuous-wave and mode-locked lasers, 40Gb/s Mach-Zehnder and 50Gb/s electroabsorption modulators, and high-speed photodetectors, as well as more complex photonic integrated circuits: optical buffers, tunable microwave filters, a laser-modulator array, and a triplexer
  • Silica-based platform: ultra-low loss waveguides have applications in PICs that require long delay lines, such as optical gyroscopes on a chip, optical buffers, true-time delays, and stable and narrow-linewidth microwave and optical sources. The group uses high aspect ratio Si3N4 waveguides to achieve record low loss

Our group also explores ways to efficiently convert heat and light into energy:

  • Thermoelectrics: our lab is developing and characterizing novel III-V compound and Si-based nanostructured thermoelectric materials. We work both on optimizing the material power conversion efficiency and characterizing thermal and electrical properties of thin-films and challenging structures
  • Photovoltaics: our research focuses on combining various materials to further enhance multi-junction solar cell efficiency

Professor Bowers':

High Frequency Electronics Group
Professor Mark Rodwell


Research Focus

In the Rodwell group, we explore the boundaries of high-frequency transistor fabrication and integrated circuit design. Unlike the microelectronics industry, which uses silicon for their transistors, we use elements such as gallium, indium, arsenic, and phosphorus. By using elements from column III and column V of the periodic table, we can create high performance heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) and field effect transistors (FET) using InP and InGaAs.

High performance HBTs are required for high speed digital logic and mixed signal circuits enabling sub-mm wave and THz ICs for imaging, sensing, radio astronomy and spectroscopy applications. HBTs designed and fabricated in the group have demonstrated power gain cut-off and current gain cut-off frequencies in excess of 800 and 650 GHz respectively.

Moore’s Law has kept the pace in personal computing for close to 40 years using silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). We leverage thirty years of experience in the III-V Arsenide/Phosphide materials system to build MOSFETs using InGaAs. Using technology such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) for gate dielectrics and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth for low resistance self-aligned ohmic contacts, we can create transistors w/ unprecedented performance characteristics.

The group is actively researching devices at all levels: fundamental semiconductor physics and material design; fabrication techniques in our state-of-the-art cleanroom; cutting edge circuit design; and fully integrated system designs. This level of vertical integration allows the students to intelligently guide research for the world’s future technological demands.

Professor Rodwell's:

Photonic Devices and Integrated Circuits Laboratory
Professor Nadir Dagli


Research Focus

  • Design, fabrication and modeling of guided-wave components for photonic integrated circuits
  • Ultra fast, ultra low drive voltage electro-optic compound semiconductor optical modulators
  • WDM components
  • Advanced novel processing techniques
  • Photonic nanostructures

Professor Dagli's: