Research
The William States Lee College of Engineering is committed to applied, interdisciplinary research. Alliances of students, faculty and community partners combine their research efforts to create knowledge, develop technology and improve the world around us.
Engineering-Led UNC Charlotte Institutional Research Centers
AIR: Charlotte Aviation Innovation and Research Institute
Dr. Tara Cavalline, Director
tcavalline@charlotte.edu
The Charlotte Aviation Innovation and Research (AIR) Institute seeks to propel North Carolina’s vitality through workforce development, economic growth and transformative research by leveraging UNC Charlotte’s relationships and collaborations with Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Sullenberger Aviation Museum, airline industry partners and the Federal Aviation Administration.
BATT CAVE: North Carolina Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle and Electrification Research Center
Dr. Tiefu Zhao, Interim Director
tiefu.zhao@charlotte.edu
The North Carolina Battery Complexity, Autonomous Vehicle and Electrification Research Center, the BATT CAVE, is driving innovation by unraveling the intricate world of batteries and their applications that will drive the next generation of autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and intelligence systems.
CPM: Center for Precision Metrology
Dr. Ed Morse, Director
emorse@charlotte.edu
The Center for Precision Metrology is an interdisciplinary association of faculty and student researchers at the University, allied with industrial partners in the research, development and integration of precision metrology as applied to manufacturing. Working with dimensional tolerances on the order of 10 parts per million or better, precision metrology encompasses the methods of production and inspection in manufacturing, measurement, algorithms, tolerance representation, and the integration of metrology into factory quality systems.
EPIC: Energy Production & Infrastructure Center
Dr. Rob Cox, Executive Director
robert.cox@charlotte.edu
The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC), formed through private and public funding, has an extramural-funded research program that is “additive” to existing departmental activities. With a deep cadre of faculty from UNC Charlotte and outside institutions, EPIC is able to successfully tackle cross-cutting, multidisciplinary, large research projects such as: electric charging of rolling stock, energy data analytics, and smart grids. Funding sources include federal agencies and a diverse range of industry partners.
Visit the Division of Research for a full list of UNC Charlotte Research Centers and Institutes
Related Research Centers
CAMMSE: Center for Advanced Multimodal Mobility Solutions and Education
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.
CBES: Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science
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).
Center for Freeform Optics
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.
Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications
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
Department-Led Research
Civil and Environmental Engineering
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
Electrical and Computer 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
Engineering Technology and Construction Management
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
Industrial and Systems Engineering
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
Mechanical Engineering
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