ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University engineers and scientists are developing computer technologies ranging from tiny robots that use artificial intelligence to a smart computer network that can detect hacker attacks and safeguard important data.
The university has created a new center to recognize and expand these research initiatives, an effort that also will provide economic development opportunities for the region and educational experiences for Ohio University students.
The Ohio University Board of Trustees has approved the creation of the Center for Intelligent, Distributed and Dependable Systems, an initiative by faculty in the areas of computer science, electrical engineering and communication systems management. The effort is supported in part by $402,500 in funding from the Vice President for Research and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, part of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology.
Faculty affiliated with the new center, which will be housed in existing office space at the university's Institute for Corrosion and Multiphase Technology facility on West State Street, already are engaged in an active computer science and information technology research program that has received more than $4 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, NASA, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
"One of the main reasons we've created the center is because we've grown so large," said Lonnie Welch, center director and the Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Stuckey Jr. Professor of Computer Science. "We've had a large number of federally funded contracts and it's become difficult to sustain the level of research we have with our current infrastructure."
One project under way at the center is the development of resource management software for real-time distributed systems. The software allows a computer network to harness the computing power of idle machines to complete complex tasks within a set time limit. Welch initially created this software for U.S. Navy ships and has since expanded it for use with a system of NASA space satellites gathering data on Earth's atmosphere, land and oceans. The technology also could be used to bolster internet security, allowing computer networks to reallocate important processing tasks to safe computers when hackers attack.
Other areas of research in the new center include artificial intelligence and computer vision. Engineers are developing "smart" robots and computerized systems that could be used for space exploration, military operations, search-and-rescue initiatives, medicine and transportation.
The center's scientists not only develop new information technology ideas, Welch said, but also work with engineers at government agencies to find practical applications for them. "We've worked really hard to maintain a strong working relationship with people in the government labs who are engineers on ship board systems or space systems such as the Hubble Telescope," he said. "Most of our university competitors don't take that approach."
One of the center's goals is to extend such partnerships to industries and entrepreneurs in southeastern Ohio, who could translate the research into commercial products that would aid economic development in the region. "We have the people and the technology for a think tank, but we need industry partners to come and work with us in this region to help transition these research projects," Welch said.
The center also will generate local employment opportunities through the hiring of administrative staff and engineers, he said. Welch and his colleagues will urge the university to develop a new PhD program in computer science that could help attract more students and researchers to the university.
In addition to Welch, faculty who will participate in the Center for Intelligent, Distributed and Dependable Systems include Carl Bruggeman, David Chelberg, David Juedes, Douglas Lawrence, Chang Liu, Cynthia Marling, David Matolak, Shawn Ostermann, Maarten Uijt de Haag and Jim Zhu, all of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Hans Kruse of the J.W. McClure School of Communication Systems Management in the College of Communication.
