Two MEAM assistant professors have received prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career Development Awards, which recognize outstanding new faculty who intend to develop academic careers involving both research and education. Assistant Professor Karl Grosh received a $210,000 grant and Assistant Professor Dawn M. Tilbury received a $200,000 grant, both to pursue new and current research projects over a four-year period.

U-M MEAM CPO / Rodney Hill “Cochlear Analogues for Engineering Acoustics” Grosh's research brings together cochlear mechanics, engineering acoustics, and active structures into one research project. The performance of mammalian hearing combines remarkable transient capture and frequency filtering, with a dynamic range that can encompass at least a million-fold change in energy. The mechanical, fluid dynamical, and electrical functions of the cochlea are largely responsible for these specifications, which are unparalleled in man-made mechanical systems. Grosh's research seeks to take advantage of the known structure-function relations of this evolutionary design for engineering acoustics. For applications ranging from sound quieting to sound sensing, the cochlear analogue design holds great potential for improving frequency selectivity and sensitivity. In addition, Grosh will undertake advanced modeling of the unsteady fluid-structure interaction problem to both provide design tools and understand phenomena. The success of this line of research will significantly change the sound quieting (e.g., muffler) and transducer (e.g., microphone) industries. The teaching portion of Grosh's grant involves integrating modern software, including computational, analytic, and graphical packages, into the classroom setting and increasing industrial relevance by introducing case studies into the classroom, stemming from both industry sponsored research projects and industry contributed case studies. Grosh's NSF Career funding is from the Civil and Mechanical Systems, and Bioengineering and Environmental Systems Divisions.

U-M MEAM CPO / Rodney Hill “Integration of Planning and Control for Nonlinear Systems” The classical approach to motion control for nonlinear systems can be broken down into two independent steps. Path planning is done first, and then a tracking control law is found which guarantees that the system converges to the desired path. The goal of Tilbury's research is to develop a unified framework in which to address both the planning and the tracking problems for nonlinear systems. The results of this research will have a broad impact on the growing area of autonomous systems, allowing for better reactions to changing conditions such sensed obstacles or large disturbances. By considering the planning and tracking problems in an integrated fashion, paths can be generated that are "easy" for the system to follow: fast, robust, stable, and requiring minimum energy. The teaching aspect of Tilbury's grant includes developing a set of Web-based tutorials to teach students the importance and utility of system modeling concepts. By using powerful simulation software, nonlinear system models can be treated quite easily, and more realistic examples can be incorporated into system modeling courses. Tilbury's NSF Career funding is from the Civil and Mechanical Systems Division.