Professor and Chair Dr. Louis Chow is keeping things cool around the University of Central Florida. Chow is at the forefront of developing a revolutionary thermal management system for high-energy lasers and high-power electronics. Since both high-energy lasers and high-power electronics are notorious for generating an immense amount of waste heat, a critical problem occurs when ineffective thermal management leads to overheating and subsequent failure of these systems. Dr. Chow says, "The heat fluxes at many of the components can exceed several thousand watts per square centimeter, which is comparable to the heat flux at the surface of the Sun." With such high levels of waste heat, an effective thermal management system is vital for proper operation and long-term reliability of the systems. Dr. Chow's challenge has been to provide a compact and lightweight heat removal system that will keep these components near room temperature.

Dr. Chow has taken on the problems of high-energy laser and high-power electronic waste heat with his pioneering research into a technology known as spray evaporation. His research into this technique relies on the key principle that, since spray evaporation uses the least amount of coolant compared to all other known techniques, a lower coolant flow rate will result in lower pump power and subsequently a smaller fluid distribution and a lower overall mass. Dr. Chow explains the workings of spray evaporation: "The idea is to exploit the heat of vaporization where the droplets impinge directly on the heated surfaces. The outcome is that surfaces are maintained wet with the high velocity droplets where intense evaporation keeps the surfaces cool."

The advances Dr. Chow has made with his research in spray evaporation techniques means that everything from military electronics such as those contained in reconnaissance planes and amphibian vehicles, to business high-end supercomputers will reap the benefits. Chow's research and application of this new technology will impact both government and private industry, and his thermal management system will be imperative for the future of electric automobiles, which will require a compact and lightweight heat management approach. The importance of cooling high-power electronics will be a key issue in the future of these electric vehicles, and the effects of Dr. Chow's spray evaporation will be tremendous.

The recognition Dr. Chow has received for his groundbreaking research has resulted in over one hundred international and national journals. Along with this published acknowledgment comes a staggering three million dollars in funding from various private companies, as well as another four million from many government agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and NASA. The pay-offs for the successes of his thermal management research have been rewarding to Dr. Chow, who has been working on spray evaporation since 1984. Most of that research has been done right here at the University of Central Florida's Boiling and Phase Change Heat Transfer Laboratory, but there is still much to be done. Dr. Chow says of the direction in which his work is heading: "The demand for high flux cooling is increasing due to the deployment of more electrical weapons such as high-energy lasers. High flux cooling of high-power electronics is beginning to find more application in electrical vehicles and power machineries. The high flux thermal management area will continue to be a very active research area in the next 10-20 years." Working with a veritable fleet of dedicated post-doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students, and bringing great acclaim to the University of Central Florida, the future for Dr. Chow's research is unquestionably bright.

Dr. Kien Hua is a very, very busy man. As a professor of Computer Science and Interim Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, it is a wonder that he has any time to conduct his own research work. The fact is, Hua thrives on his research, explores projects in a number of areas, including wireless communications, mobile computing, multimedia databases, multimedia communications, and sensor computing.

One standout project has been Dr. Hua's current efforts in developing Range Multicast. Since large-scale deployment of multimedia applications hinges on a cost-effective technique for video delivery on demand, a system that can reduce service costs and accommodate the differences that multiple users incur without exhausting system resources needed to be developed. Dr. Hua's ingenious solution to this twenty-first century conundrum has been in developing a new communication paradigm known as Range Multicast. Dr. Hua explains his method: "Unlike users of a conventional multicast who must share the same play point in a video at all time, users of Range Multicast can have a range of different play points. Thus, they can join the Range Multicast at their leisure without waiting. This is achieved without using any more server resources than in standard multicast." With Range Multicast, Dr. Hua's system enables the most productive and cost-effective large-scale deployment of video-on-demand applications such as digital libraries, distance learning, video catalogs for eCommerce, and both entertainment and news on demand. The benefits of Dr. Hua's research are far-reaching, and positively affect everyone from private companies to consumers, and scientists to students.

Dr. Hua's Range Multicast research endeavors have the potential to influence the entire video-on-demand technologies of today, and his techniques have been more than influential in shifting the established status quo. Thinking with an open mind and working with a flexible attitude are the cornerstones of any good research work, and Dr. Hua's success in helping an entire industry reach a new plateau is a testament to this kind of research methodology. His is deeply dedicated to assisting the local community and economy, and his advances have been beneficial in assisting area companies in cutting edge development work; Dr. Hua has helped local companies such as Oracle, ImageSoft, Fiserv, and Electronic Arts have all benefited from his research. The former Vice President of ImageSoft Technology said of Hua: "When we try to develop new, unique, and competitive advantages in the marketplace, we want to employ the latest in technology, and we know that Dr. Hua and his students will get the work done. They've succeeded over and over again for us." Many of the students that have assisted Dr. Hua have been his graduate and doctoral students, and Hua's reputation as a professor who includes rather than excludes has served these students well. Every one of Dr. Hua's Ph.D. candidates is currently a professor at a major institution -- a fact that attests to Dr. Hua's dedication as an advisor and educator.

In order to aid Dr. Hua's continuing research efforts in serving both the University of Central Florida and local business technologies, over 2.3 million dollars in research funding has been awarded to him for various projects, primarily from the prestigious National Science Foundation. This funding has greatly influenced the success of Dr. Hua's Range Multicast project, which in 2001 began its initial stages in 2001 mainly out of the Data Systems Laboratory located in the Computer Science Building. All of Dr. Hua's hard work has paid off, as a video-on-demand system employing Range Multicast technology is in its final stages of implementation. Results have been more than promising and Dr. Hua says, "The main objective is to prove the feasibility of the Range Multicast approach and investigate its performance under realistic scenarios."

In his fourteen years of service to the University of Central Florida Dr. Zhihua Qu has been bringing international attention and acclaim to the University and specifically to his department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Recognized on both national and international levels as a leader in his field, Dr. Qu is an invaluable asset to both the University and ECE.

Part of Dr. Qu's reputation as a forerunner within the Electrical Engineering arena comes from his success in research areas. Of primary focus has been Qu's interest in advanced controls and robotic systems. Dr. Issa Batarseh, a colleague of Dr. Qu's, and the current Interim Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering said, "As a researcher Dr. Qu has clearly demonstrated his superior intellect, and his research has led to many groundbreaking results, especially in the areas of nonlinear robust control, planning and control of autonomous robotic systems, and fault-tolerant controls." One of Qu's most current research endeavors has been his work developing an autonomous robotic system able to operate in uncertain environments for space missions. Operating mainly out of the Control Systems and Robotics Laboratory, Dr. Qu's project for NASA's Space Research Initiative began in late 2003 with the purpose of contributing to the areas of systems automation and robotic inspection that NASA has identified as "High Priority Technology" for their organization. The project has been funded with close to two hundred thousand dollars, however, this is a relatively small sum compared to the over 3.4 million dollars Qu has been awarded from various federal and state agencies, as well as private industry sources.

Dr. Qu's contributions to the University have extended beyond his significant research involvements. Qu served the University of Central Florida and the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department as the Director and Interim Chair of ECE from 1999 to 2003. As the departmental head, he worked diligently with school administration to recruit outstanding junior faculty and he also designed and implemented the school-wide policy of a reduced teaching load. The policy is designed to reward faculty with high achievements in research and funding. This initiative has helped UCF in its continuing mission of establishing the University as a landmark research institution. In working towards this goal Dr. Qu was able to facilitate the increase of external funding to the Electrical Engineering faculty by 58% during his tenure as Department Chair. Throughout all of his achievements Dr. Qu has maintained a normal teaching assignment and contributed to countless academic and professional societies and publications. In addition to over 100 articles in top robotics and controls journals Dr. Qu has published three books as a result of his research discoveries. Extending his duties and service to his field, Dr. Ou also serves as Associate Editor for Automatica and for International Journal of Robotics and Automation.

Dr. Essam Radwan has been serving the University of Central Florida for over fourteen years in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), which sits under the umbrella of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. As both a full professor and the Executive Director for the Center for Advanced Transportation Systems Simulation (CATSS), Dr. Radwan has had a full plate since he started at UCF.

Having so many responsibilities has not kept Dr. Radwan from conducting his own outstanding research in the areas of traffic safety and operations. He primarily works within CATSS and the CEE on research that utilizes the art and science of computer simulation in order to model traffic movement on highways and streets. Part of working with the computer technology aspect of his research means that Dr. Radwan and his university associates have had to help develop simulation software and human-centered simulators that can aid in carrying out their tasks. These simulators are invaluable because they assist in researching efficient and safe techniques that help design roads and successfully manage traffic movement. These same simulators also help to license commercial vehicle drivers and train them to be safe and conscientious motorists. A natural extension of Dr. Radwan's highway and street traffic safety modeling has been his involvement in researching and developing models that provide an effective design for toll plaza facilities, as well as identifying operation and management problems within these facilities.

In order to encourage and continue his traffic and safety research, Dr. Radwan has received close to ten million dollars from the United States Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Transportation. This funded research has been integral to both of these organizations as they try to combat our country's transportation problems. In addition to the driving simulators CATSS uses on a regular basis, Dr. Radwan and his ten research and graduate assistants have developed simulation software to evacuate transportation networks under emergency conditions, as well as animation and 3-D visualization software that demonstrates the utility and advantages to using traffic simulation software. Behind all of his hard work and exhausting research has been Dr. Radwan's sincere desire to educate and promote safe driving on the road in order to save countless lives.

Simply put, Industrial Engineers make things work well, and Industrial Engineering and Management Systems professor Dr. Kay Stanney wants to do just that -- for human beings. Her exceptional research in multi-modal computing is making such an ambitious directive like this possible.

As we advance into the 21st century and technology becomes more sophisticated, the strain on the human operator to process dense information quickly increases. The need for information interfaces that will allow human operators to process the optimal amount of data is pivotal if we expect to yield the greatest benefits from our expanding technological endeavors. Dr. Stanney's research in multi-modal computing explores ways in which different system designs can aid the human operator and produce optimal results. Since future systems are likely to convey information and data at ever-increasing rates, her research suggests that human interaction with these systems can be substantially enhanced by adopting a paradigm shift from current, primarily visual systems, to new systems that optimize the distribution of perceptual and cortical processing in order to utilize the totality of the human capacity to handle data. That utilization includes taking advantage of the multiple sensory abilities that humans possess. Dr. Stanney says that by expanding the number of sensory channels engaged, "such multi-modal systems have the potential to not only enhance the overall user experience, but also allow individuals with sensory losses to more fully engage and leverage information appliances."

What types of interactive systems has Dr. Stanney's research yielded? Working with several university and Institute for Simulation and Training (IST) colleagues and graduate assistants, including Dr. Clint Bowers, Mr. Brian Goldiez, and Dr. Jannick Rolland, as well as many others in her Synthetic Environment Research Group, Dr. Stanney's efforts have produced promising results in multi-modal interactions involving integrated visual displays, auditory displays supplemented with 3-D audio, olfactory displays, and haptic displays using special gloves and tactile vests. By tapping into all of the sensory capabilities of the human body, and not limiting processing to solely visual abilities, Dr. Stanney has been able to achieve a rich and more efficient multi-modal experience.

Dr. Stanney's new multi-modal systems will be particularly beneficial for supporting time-dependent, information-laden tasks such as those performed by air traffic controllers, command-and-control personnel, and emergency management respondents. Her theories and models also take advantage of a number of sensory channels, so individuals with visual-impairments, hearing impairments and tactile sensation loss, including the elderly, can participate with these new multi-modal systems more fully than they might using a more traditional visual system.

In her twelve years of research into human-computer interaction, Dr. Stanney's efforts have received recognition from a number of different sources. Primary to all of these is her assistance to the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and their attempts to realize Augmented Cognition, a program destined to revolutionize the way humans interact with computers. The theory behind the DARPA program is that by replacing electromechanical interaction devices like a joystick or mouse with electrophysical interaction devices such as electroencephalograms (EEG) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), subtle human physiological indicators could be used to direct human-computer interactions. Dr. Stanney's multi-modal research aids the Augmented Cognition program by devising theories to direct how best to coordinate between physiological sensing and interface presentation. In collaboration with her colleagues at UCF and IST, Dr. Stanney has been able to secure over two million dollars in research funding over the past two years from the Office of Naval Research to support such multi-modal research.

Throughout her work in human-computer interaction and more recently multi-modal computing research, Dr. Stanney has made immeasurable contributions to not only the field of Industrial Engineering, but also to the University as a whole. These efforts have recently been recognized by the bestowment of the UCF Trustee Chair distinction. She envisions making continued contributions to this expanding field for at least another.