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Robert Lodder
Professor
Sensing in Astrobiology Using Laser Arrays
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NSF-funded research deals with computational mathematics and a new
paradigm called dynamic data-driven application simulations (DDDAS). We
are working on a programmable, networked portable low cost mil-spec
sensor-based system using DDDAS in extreme aqueous environments. DDDAS
algorithms interact with three data collection components to provide
early contaminant detection methods that can be used in remediation
efforts to protect coastal facilities and nearby ecosystems from
chemical spills. The research in this project will be extendable to
other environments. For example, it can be used to send a similar DDDAS
rover-based sensor system to extreme environments like an underground
mining accident location, or for planetary science missions to Europa,
drilling for water on Mars, or anywhere |
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which identification of materials is important and must be accomplished
with little or no human intervention. Students with a background in
chemistry, computers, electronics, mathematics, or biology can easily
contribute to this project. With the supervision of Dr. Lodder and the
help of graduate students and postdocs, undergraduate students will
have the opportunity to collect data from sensors, modify and upgrade
existing sensors and networks, and work on programming the simulations.
The dynamic simulation will instruct the sensors what to look for and
reprogram them for those analytes. The sensors will then report the
newly observed data to the simulation. The simulation will then
incorporate the new data, update its predictions in a window in
simulation time, and finally reprogram the sensors again in a closed
loop. This symbiotic system will, when completed, eliminate the humans
from the loop. This feature will be particularly important when the
system is extended for use in other environments, such as
interplanetary exploration, where long communication delays prevent
human intervention or render it ineffective. |
Further details of Dr. Lodders' work are given on the Chemistry website and on his Pharmacy website. |
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