Research

Dr. Wei Fan, Director
wfan7@charlotte.edu

The Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education (CAMMSE) is a Tier 1 University Transportation Center and a consortium of five universities, led by UNC Charlotte. CAMMSE will address the FAST Act research priority area of “Improving Mobility of People and Goods” by focusing on developing advanced technology, methods and models for multimodal transportation (including highway, air, rail, freight, public transit, bicycle and pedestrian) as well as educating and developing an effective workforce.

Dr. Christine Richardson, Director
c.richardson@charlotte.edu

Bringing together an interdisciplinary collection of faculty, researchers, clinicians and practitioners, CBES provides an essential collaborative environment for solving biomedical issues. CBES is organized into four focus areas: Applied Cancer Technology and Therapeutics (ACT2), Medical Therapies and Technologies (MTT), Biomechanics and Mobility Research (BMR), and Molecular Engineering and Design (MED).

centerfreeformoptics.org

Thomas Suleski, Director
tsuleski@charlotte.edu
Kosta Falaggis, Associate Director
kfalaggis@charlotte.edu

A joint Industry-Government-University cooperative research center funded primarily through industry and government labs members, the Center for Freeform Optics (CeFO) advances research and education in the science, engineering, and applications of systems based on freeform optics through a dedicated, continuing industrial partnership based on shared value, and promotion of technical advantage leading to a competitive economic advantage for CeFO members.

Dr. Glenn Boreman, Director
gboreman@charlotte.edu

The technical focus for the Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications is in advancing the integration of optical and electronic functionality for next-generation photonic devices and systems. Research areas include:

• Optoelectronic devices and sub-assemblies
• Devices for telecommunications, sensors, and characterization
• Active and passive photonic devices
• Integrated optics and packaging
• Optical materials (semiconductors, polymer-organic and crystalline)
• Optical metrology
• Optical imaging
• Optical communication networks
• Biologics Characterization

Dr. Glenn Moglen, Department Chair
gmoglen@charlotte.edu

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) has research specialties in areas including environmental and water resources engineering, geo-environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, sustainable and resilient design, planning and designing for climate change, all elements of construction, novel and innovative applications (such as the use of artificial intelligence), and sensitivity to matters of equity and access in public spaces. Some example projects include; advanced multimodal mobility solutions, SARS-CoV-2 tracking in the wastewater of smaller municipal systems, finite element modeling of a staged constructed tunnel and passive samplers for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

• Environmental Engineering  
• Geotechnical Engineering 
• Structural Engineering 
• Transportation Engineering 

Dr. Asis Nasipuri, Department Chair
anasipur@charlotte.edu

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering‘s (ECE) faculty conduct research in a broad range of areas including communications and networking, robotics and control, signal and image processing, computer hardware and software, distributed and real-time systems, electromagnetics, electronic and optical devices, power and energy systems, power electronics, engineering education, and others. ECE faculty are heavily engaged in working with graduate and undergraduate students in their projects. Most research projects are sponsored by federal, state, and private funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, NC State Energy Agency, Department of Transportation, Duke Energy, EPRI, Siemens Energy and many others.

Some of the current active projects include real-time AI for public safety, hardware security for the Internet of Things (IoT), timely information transfer for communication networks, biomedical imaging, power-grid control and resiliency, wireless power transfer for smart transportation, and novel solar-cell technologies.

Research areas:

• Communication, Control and Signal Processing
• Computer Systems
• Devices, Circuits and Systems
• Machine Learning and AI
• Engineering Education

Dr. Lingguang Song, Department Chair
lsong2@charlotte.edu

Faculty within the Department of Engineering Technology and Construction Management (ETCM) conduct research in a broad range of areas spanning renewable energy sources, infrastructure and construction materials, cybersecurity for manufacturing, construction safety and health, mobility, and innovation in education. ETCM faculty actively engage undergraduate and graduate students in their research, which is supported through agencies and institutes such as the NCDOT, National Science Foundation, UNC Coastal Studies Institute, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Energy. Projects include advance pavement materials for NC state highways, testing of marine energy devices, development of tools to enhance the cybersecurity of US manufacturing, and assessment of photovoltaic systems in snow-prone environments.

Research areas:

• Infrastructure System and Resilience
• Energy Transition and Sustainability
• Advanced Manufacturing and Security
• Safety and Health
• Digital Transformation
• Innovation in Engineering Education and Workforce Training

Dr. Simon Hsiang, Department Chair
shsiang1@charlotte.edu

Within Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE) research encompasses a wide range of optimization and logistical challenges associated with diverse applications such as transport, energy, and healthcare. Some sample projects include solar power and net load forecasting, data-driven models to allocate resources in emergency departments, integration of marine renewables into the power grid, microtransit optimization, and Wi-Fi log data processing methodologies. Funding sources include the Department of Energy, Stanford Health Care, and the NCDOT.

Research areas:

• Energy Systems
• Healthcare Systems
• Transportation Systems
• Logistics and Manufacturing Systems
• Decision and Risk Analysis
• Optimization

Dr. Harish Cherukuri, Department Chair
hcheruku@charlotte.edu

Research within the Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science (MEES) Department is focused in six primary areas: manufacturing and metrology, computational mechanics and materials, battery and autonomous vehicles electrification, bioengineering, thermal fluids science, and dynamics and controls. Within these areas, students work with talented faculty on a wide range of projects supported by industry, state, and federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and Department of Defense. Example research topics include additive manufacture of ceramic and metal components; improving the mobility and energy-efficiency of heterogeneous traffic environments consisting of both human-driven and autonomous vehicles; advance fundamental understanding of the solid electrolyte interphase chemistry and morphology evolution during the battery operation; advance medical device development and lead to innovative treatments for neurological diseases; dynamics and control of multi-agent mechanical systems; and leveraging machine learning and AI for the measurement and assessment of a component’s surface and dimensional features.

• Advanced manufacturing and metrology
• Battery and Autonomous Vehicles Electrification
• Bioengineering
• Computational mechanics and materials
• Dynamics and controls
• Motorsports engineering
• Thermal–fluids science