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U-M innovators named in Forbes 30 Under 30 for student engagement platform

Seniors Blake Mischley, Kaleb Schmottlach, and Jonah Liss were recognized for their startup called MeetYourClass, a platform that revolutionizes the way incoming university students connect.

Chun-Wei Liu receives Rackham International Student Fellowship

Liu’s PhD work in quantum engineering explores collective effects of atom-atom interactions.

Toward quantum for the real world: photonic team in running for center-level funding

A team led by the University of Michigan aims to bring the extraordinary accuracy of quantum laboratory measurements to real-world devices.

Jesse Codling receives ACM BuildSys 2024 paper award for work on heart rate monitoring

Codling’s project, aptly named “FloHR,” uses geophones to measure human heart rate through floor vibrations in home environments.

Kamal Sarabandi receives IEEE Dennis J. Picard Medal for Radar Technologies and Applications

This award recognizes Prof. Sarabandi’s many outstanding accomplishments in advancing the fields of radar technologies and their applications.

New generative AI model can reconstruct a high-quality, sparse-view 3D CT scan with a much lower X-ray dose

Improvements move the deep learning technique towards use in 3D medical imaging.

ECE alum Bernard Arfin celebrates his Michigan roots at his 100th birthday

Bernie Arfin graded papers for William Gould Dow, worked at Willow Run research facility, and enjoyed attending football and basketball games up to his 99th birthday.

Developing StiMote, a wireless neural stimulator for restoring vision

The highly collaborative project will leverage many tiny sensing computers, called “motes,” to communicate with the visual cortex of the brain.

Jay Guo elected IEEE Fellow for contributions to nanoimprint technology

Guo is a world-renowned researcher who has made significant contributions to a wide variety of areas, including nanoimprinting, nanophotonics, organic solar cells, and more.

Mariko Burgin receives ECE Alumni Rising Star Award

Burgin spoke about her journey as an electrical engineer interested in space, leading her to work for NASA and Blue Origin on space missions.

Samuel H. Fuller funds early-career professorship

Fuller gave an alumni lecture on the history of computing and the current state of AI before presenting the inaugural award to Hun-Seok Kim.

Educating People-First Engineers: A Q&A with Cindy Finelli and Erin Cech

Preparing the next generation of engineers to consider public welfare when developing new technologies.

Students visit two local semiconductor companies in the Fall ECE Expeditions

Local semiconductor companies, one established and one an ECE alumni startup, gave students an insider’s perspective on life working in their companies.

Mehdi Hatamian honored with ECE Alumni Impact Award

Hatamian’s work promises to revolutionize healthcare with affordable, quick, and easy cancer screenings.

Xavier Farrell earns NAPS 2024 presentation award for work to predict household savings on electricity bills

Farrell’s PhD work focuses on forecasting long-term financial outcomes for households switching electricity rate plans based on recommendation systems.

Andrew Owens’ research group uses visual illusions to test the limits of diffusion models

Members of Andrew Owens’s research group, Daniel Geng, Aaron Park, and Ziyang Chen, are using ambiguous image generation to understand diffusion models.

Wei Lu earns 2024 Best Paper Award for work in spiking neural networks

The paper was published in Proceedings of the IEEE in September 2023, and already has more than 500 citations.

Fifteen papers by ECE researchers to be presented at the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems

Topics of accepted ECE NeurIPS papers include diffusion models, large language models, multi-armed bandit models, and more.

ECE faculty design chips for efficient and accessible AI

Faculty specializing in architecture, hardware, and software innovation accelerate machine learning across a range of applications.

Alex Burgers receives AFOSR support for research on atom-photon interactions

Prof. Burgers will use optical tweezers to create quantum mirrors from 2D arrays of atoms in a first-of-its-kind experimental demonstration.

Mike Flynn recognized with SIA/SRC University Research Award

Prof. Flynn’s research on analog-to-digital converters has been applied in biomedicine, telecommunications, machine learning, and more.

2024 ECE Core Values Excellence Award Winners

The recipients for 2024 are Shelly Feldkamp, Nancy Slowey, and Rick Van Camp.

QuantUM holds 1st Quantum Hackathon at Michigan

With this hackathon, the University of Michigan became an official member of IBM’s Qiskit Fall Fest.

In vivo wireless readings from a bile duct stent sensor in a pig

New magnetoelastic sensor within a stent transmits information about potential blockages, demonstrating potential use for a wide range of body sizes.

Zetian Mi awarded $3M DARPA grant to scale next generation semiconductor materials on silicon

Mi’s team will partner with industry to integrate defect-free III-V materials with silicon.

Meet new faculty member Inigo Incer

Incer is an assistant professor specializing in complex systems.

ECE Spinout company NS Nanotech releases first solid-state semiconductor to produce human-safe disinfecting UV light

NS Nanotech’s new product, enabled by ECE Prof. Zetian Mi’s research, can safely disinfect high-risk spaces like ambulances and school buses.

Johanna Mathieu receives DOE C3E Award for achievements in clean energy research

Mathieu has devoted her career to reducing the environmental impact of the current power system, often in partnership with energy companies and local communities.

ECE startup MemryX releases MX3 Edge AI Accelerator

MemryX has announced production availability of a new AI chip, enabled by U-M ECE research.

Michigan AI Symposium showcases cutting-edge advances in embodied AI

The event brought together over 300 AI experts for a day of networking and discussions around this evolving field.

A pulsed, helical laser to control other light signals, speeding up fiber-optic communication

New device can act as an all-optical switch, the first step towards processing data encoded in light

Meet new faculty member Shubhanshu Shekhar

Shekhar is an assistant professor specializing in machine learning and statistics.

Andrew Owens receives NSF CAREER Award for research to improve machine perception systems

Prof. Owens’ research will help fully autonomous systems interact with their environments without human supervision.

Matthew Raymond recognized for research using ML techniques to design new types of medicine

Doctoral student Matthew Raymond wants to facilitate the development of new and groundbreaking nanomedicines.

Can Yaras recognized for his research aimed at efficient algorithms for LLMs

Doctoral student Can Yaras wants to reduce the carbon footprint of AI.

Celebrating New ECE Alumni Faculty 

ECE celebrates these individuals who have recently begun their academic careers as new faculty members in higher education.

Leo Kempel receives ECE Distinguished Alumni Educator Award

Kempel delivered his award lecture on restructuring engineering education for the future.

Zetian Mi awarded $7.5M MURI for research on ferroelectric nitrides

Prof. Mi is the lead PI on a collaborative project that aims to advance ferroelectric nitrides for applications in next-generation microelectronics and quantum-photonic devices.

Arthur Xiao wins SID Detroit Metro Chapter Academic Award for work on red micro-LEDs

Xiao’s PhD work has focused on developing tiny, efficient, and stable red LEDs for use in virtual and augmented reality displays.

David Tarver honored with ECE Alumni Merit Award

Returning to campus to receive his award, Tarver spoke about the arc of his professional journey from electrical engineer to community advocate.

David Wentzloff receives U-M Faculty Recognition Award

Wentzloff is a leader in wireless integrated circuits and systems, and founder of three companies.

An OLED for compact, lightweight night vision

Thinner than a human hair, the device amplifies and converts near infrared light into visible light with the potential for low power consumption and long battery life.

In step toward solar fuels, durable artificial photosynthesis setup chains two carbons together

The system produces ethylene, an important ingredient of many plastics, with much higher efficiency, yield and longevity than competing systems.

Vijay Subramanian awarded $7.5M MURI to rethink game theory in dynamic environments

Prof. Subramanian is the lead PI on a collaborative project to improve the accuracy of modern game theory predictions and produce better outcomes.

M-Fly competes in autonomous aerial competition for the first time, led by EECS students

Two student leaders of M-Fly share their experiences, and their hope that more EECS students join the team in the future.

Welcome to our new faculty (2024-2025)

ECE’s five new faculty members bring expertise in the areas of computer vision, cyber-physical systems, machine learning and AI, energy storage, HCI, and personalized medical devices.

Leveraging artificial intelligence for early detection of lung cancer

Predictive models developed by an interdisciplinary U-M research team have improved early lung cancer detection beyond traditional measures, with the potential to save lives.

Remembering Sky

Sky the Saint Bernard, who offered his sweet and loving disposition and soft body to the students of ECE, has passed away.

Pei Zhang will contribute to a new NSF Center for Insights into the Pre-Emergence Phase of Pandemics

Prof. Zhang will develop sensor systems to model the movement and risk factors of animal populations in disease spread as part of the interdisciplinary NSF center.

Aline Eid receives MTRAC Award to commercialize radar vision for autonomous indoor navigation

Prof. Eid will partner with the industry startup Atheraxon to market technology for automated guided vehicles in warehouse environments and beyond.

Austin Lin awarded IEEE PES Prize Conference Paper for work quantifying HVAC load-shifting efficiency

PhD student Austin Lin presented his award-winning research at the 2024 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting in Seattle.

2024 ECE Alumni Awards Recognize Leaders, Innovators, Educators, and Rising Stars

Five ECE alumni are receiving departmental and College of Engineering awards for their contributions to society: Dixon Doll, Mehdi Hatamian, David Tarver, Leo Kempel, and Mariko Burgin.

Jeff Fessler named William L. Root Distinguished University Professor of EECS

Fessler has improved healthcare for countless patients by improving medical imaging techniques, while achieving a distinguished record as an educator.

Hun-Seok Kim appointed as inaugural Samuel H. Fuller Early Career Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Prof. Kim is a world leader in efficient algorithm and VLSI design for wireless communication, signal processing, computer vision, and machine learning.

New textbook teaches students about matrix methods and their real world applications

Linear Algebra for Data Science, Machine Learning, and Signal Processing, written by ECE Professors Jeffrey Fessler and Raj Nadakuditi, provides an accessible and interactive guide to matrix methods.

National champs: U-Michigan Solar Car Team takes first in American Solar Challenge

“All that hard work paid off, and I couldn’t imagine a better ending,” said Daniel Benedict, team manager and recent CE grad.

Michigan Plasma prize honors University of Illinois professor

U-Michigan Institute for Plasma Science and Engineering celebrates David Ruzic’s advances in plasma-aided semiconductor manufacturing and fusion.

Spencer BeMent (1937-2024): In Memoriam

Prof. BeMent is remembered for his research contributions, his commitment to the EECS community, and his generous spirit.

OptoGPT for improving solar cells, smart windows, telescopes and more

Taking advantage of the transformer neural networks that power large language models, engineers can get recipes for materials with the optical properties they need.

Kamal Sarabandi honored as inaugural IEEE AP-S Legend of Electromagnetics

The newly established “Legends of Electromagnetics” program recognizes outstanding members of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society for their impact on the field.

Fourteen papers by ECE researchers to be presented at the International Conference on Machine Learning

Accepted papers for the ICML conference span topics including deep representation learning, language model fine-tuning, generative modeling, and more.

UM::Autonomy’s Phoenix navigates into a fourth place finish at the 2024 RoboBoat competition

Collaboration and problem solving led the UM::Autonomy RoboBoat team to fourth place in the automated tasks and first place in the design documentation competition.

EECS commemorates Juneteenth with event celebrating excellence and diversity in tech

Over 200 community members came together for the department’s 5th annual Juneteenth celebration, featuring musical performances, presentations by students, talks by distinguished alumni, and local Black-owned food trucks.

Matt Raymond receives Beyster Fellowship to support research on nanoscale particle design

Raymond’s research has the potential to aid treatment of drug-resistant bacterial infections.

Updating the textbook on polarization in gallium nitride to optimize wide bandgap semiconductors

Understanding the phenomenon underpinning the material’s electronic performance will inform the design of smaller, faster and more efficient electronic and quantum devices.

John Kustin and Vangelis Dikopoulos win Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship to support work on intelligent audio systems

The pair of ECE PhD students will use the award to improve devices such as smart speakers, hearing aids, and car sound systems.

Jack East (1947-2024): In Memoriam

During his 40 years as a student and faculty member in the department, Dr. East provided invaluable contributions to a wide range of research advancements, while quietly bringing people together.

Zetian Mi receives 2024 ISCS Quantum Devices Award

Mi’s fundamental research in ultrawide bandgap semiconductors has led to new discoveries in the field and two startup companies.

The legacy of Lynn Conway, chip design pioneer and transgender rights advocate

Conway, professor emerita of electrical engineering and computer science, has died.

A winning plan for green hydrogen trucking 

Doctoral student Rebecca Lentz is part of a six-member team that earned 2nd place in the inaugural U-M Hydrogen Grand Challenge.

Engineers have a duty to protect public well-being, but less than half learn how to do so effectively

Training in formal classes proves the most effective way to prepare engineers to protect public welfare at work

Renewable grid: Recovering electricity from heat storage hits 44% efficiency

Thermophotovoltaics developed at U-M can recover significantly more energy stored in heat batteries.

Bringing the Joy of Coding to Asilong, Kenya

Fourteen eleventh graders have joined Joy of Coding in Kenya, learning programming skills and teaching them to peers.

Two UG students win national energy prize with their plan for artificial kelp forests

With mutual interests in entrepreneurship and sustainability, Beck and Jayasundera teamed up to further their knowledge, and earned $25K in the process.

Four Students Inducted into the 2023-2024 Excellence in ECE Honor Roll

These undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students have all taken time to improve the Michigan experience for fellow students and others.

Andrew Park wins iWAT Student Paper Award for work on STAR antennas

PhD student Andrew Park presented his award-winning poster at the 2024 International Workshop in Antenna Technology in Sendai, Japan.

Parag Deotare and Zetian Mi are editors of new book: 2D Excitonic Materials and Devices

The book, which is part of Elsevier’s Semiconductors and Semimetals series, offers both an overview and a deep dive into 2D excitonic materials and their applications.

AI chips could get a sense of time

Timekeeping in the brain is done with neurons that relax at different rates after receiving a signal; now memristors—hardware analogues of neurons—can do that too

Jeffrey A. Fessler named Interim Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Fessler is a world leader in medical image reconstruction and a gifted educator.

John Nees earns U-M Research Faculty Achievement Award

Nees has been a key contributor to the many ultrafast and high science advancements accomplished at the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Sciences.

Yan Long receives dissertation award in the area of hardware security

Long’s efforts to protect cyber-physical systems from security breaches has led to industry improvements in embedded camera design.

Engineering senior reaches new heights in rocketry

Evan Eidt discusses his draw to the engineering discipline, his experience with the Michigan Aeronautical Science Association, and his post-graduation plans.

University of Michigan team partners with Semiwise to tackle cryogenic control electronics technology

Prof. Dennis Sylvester and PhD student Qirui Zhang are working with UK-based company Semiwise Ltd. to design cryogenic circuitry and improve the efficiency of quantum computing.

John Heron and Zetian Mi edit new book: Emerging Ferroelectric Materials and Devices

The book, which is part of Elsevier’s Semiconductors and Semimetals series, covers the latest developments in existing and emerging ferroelectric technology.

2024 Undergraduate Student Awards

These students are recognized for their outstanding scholarship, research, service, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Stéphane Lafortune voted 2024 HKN Professor of the Year

Prof. Lafortune is receiving this honor for the second time. Last year, he taught the introductory course in signals and systems, and a new introductory course focused on the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Kamal Sarabandi receives Ellis Island Medal of Honor

The national award recognizes the importance of immigrants and their descendants to U.S. economic and social vitality. Honorees are read annually into the Congressional Record.

William D. Becher: In Memoriam (1929-2024)

Dr. William “Bill” Becher was an alum of the Department, former ECE Chair at U-M Dearborn, and devoted steward of the former EECS Alumni Society and U-M Amateur Radio Club.

Markus Borsch receives ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award for research on lightwave electronics

With his dissertation, Borsch takes on the unknown and enables the future of solid-state quantum electronics.

Integrating battery storage into electrical grids can sometimes increase emissions due to market forces

An electricity market analysis found adding battery storage to enhance grid reliability may cause power generation markets to favor coal over natural gas.

Wei Lu named James R. Mellor Professor of Engineering

Lu is internationally renowned for his pioneering efforts in the development and commercialization of novel electrical devices, specifically memristors for memory and logic applications.

Raj Rao Nadakuditi honored with Master’s Mentoring Award

Prof. Nadakuditi received this award from the Rackham Graduate School in recognition of his many contributions to the education of students at the master’s level.

Paula Pernia awarded Staff Excellence Award for her remarkable contributions as Facilities Manager

As ECE Facilities Manager for ECE, Pernia has exhibited stellar performance over 27 years at the University, while embodying the values of ECE that make it a great place to work.

Alum Kamal Rudra recognized as Young Scientist to attend 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

Rudra will have the opportunity to meet 39 Nobel Laureates at the event, including Gérard Mourou.

Aaditya Hambarde receives top honors for his work as a Graduate Student Instructor

Taking inspiration from such luminaries as Dr. Rita Pierson and Mahatma Gandhi, there is no question that Hambarde was an inspiration to many of those that he taught at Michigan.

The Krumm Family Scholarship Fund will support future electrical and computer engineering students

The Krumm Family Scholarship Fund is the second scholarship fund endowed by Charles and Patricia Krumm in their quest to benefit society through higher education.

Students and ECE staff celebrate Black History Month

A group of students and ECE staff visited the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and enjoyed lunch at Ima Izakaya restaurant in Corkdown, Detroit.

Report issued on state of intelligent vehicle dependability and security

Safe operation of fully autonomous vehicles on public roads is not anticipated in the near future.

Amanda Liss receives Harry B. Benford Award for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Liss is recognized for her commitment to bringing sustainable energy to the people of the Pantanal region of Brazil.

Aditya Varma Muppala doubly recognized for outstanding teaching and research

Aditya has made long-term contributions to a graduate course in applied electromagnetics, initiated a Youtube channel to disseminate knowledge worldwide, and made breakthrough contributions in imaging systems.

Nouman Khan awarded the Richard and Eleanor Towner Prize for Distinguished Academic Achievement

Khan is a dedicated educator and researcher in the areas of multi-agent systems and networks.

Andrea Goldsmith honored with the 21st William Gould Dow Distinguished Lectureship

Goldsmith shared her journey to becoming an Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor, entrepreneur, and author, and her wisdom for current and future ECE students.

Kamal Sarabandi’s leap of faith in Michigan

Prof. Sarabandi arrived in Ann Arbor as a first year graduate student 40 years ago on February 29, another leap year, and built a career that has earned him engineering’s highest honors.

ECE Expeditions heads back to Silicon Valley

The 7th cross-country voyage of the ECE Expeditions program took students to the Bay Area to visit Meta, Kodiak Robotics, KLA, and SiTime.

Joseph Costello awarded Rackham Predoc to support research on brain-machine interfaces

Costello is working to restore mobility to individuals by developing improved brain-machine interfaces.

Anjali Devi Sivakumar awarded Barbour Scholarship to support her research on analytical wearables for health monitoring

Sivakumar is developing analytical devices to measure and analyze insensible, or vapor, sweat for disease diagnosis.

Shubham Mondal awarded Rackham Predoc to support research on III-Nitride semiconductors for next generation electronics

Mondal’s materials research is expected to impact fields such as data centric computing, edge intelligence, and quantum photonic devices.

GenAI diffusion models learn to generate new content more consistently than expected

Award-winning research led by Prof. Qing Qu discovered an intriguing phenomenon that diffusion models consistently produce nearly identical content starting from the same noise input, regardless of model architectures or training procedures.

The power of a “can do” spirit: Wei-Kuan Lin’s journey to success

When Wei-Kuan Lin began to struggle with graduate school, Prof. L. Jay Guo’s compassion, support, and advice empowered him to succeed.

Semyon Meerkov retires, and continues his work on Production Systems Engineering

Prof. Meerkov’s interest in control and manufacturing led to a new field of Production Systems Engineering.

Anthony Grbic named John L. Tishman Professor of Engineering

Grbic is a world leader in the development of metamaterials and metasurfaces. Watch his lecture.

Auto industry deadlines loom for impaired-driver detection tech, U-M offers a low-cost solution

As the comment period closes on the new federal requirement, a U-M team led by Prof. Mohammed Islam demonstrates that upgrades to current technologies could do the job

Jiangnan Liu receives SVCF Scholarship to support research in quantum photonics

Liu is a PhD student investigating new materials for future opportunities in quantum photonics.

Rhonda Franklin receives ECE Distinguished Alumni Educator Award

Franklin described her personal journey that led to her current research in RF and microwave technology for diverse applications, and her own work as a mentor to current students.

Augmented reality system for accessible play, iGYM, goes international

Using iGYM’s computer vision module, the U-M team partnered with the University of Tsukuba’s FUTUREGYM Team to develop new interactive games that allow children of all abilities to play together.

New QuantUM organization empowers undergrads interested in Quantum Science and Technology

The club is partnering with the Quantum Research Institute to educate and support students across the university who have an interest in quantum fields.

Remembering alum David Mills, who brought the internet into perfect time

Mills created the Network Time Protocol, which enables any device online to know precisely what time it is.

Don Winsor: Leading IT support in EECS

Dr. Don Winsor leads the EECS Department’s Departmental Computing Organization (DCO) with joy and grace.

Shubham Mondal receives SVCF Scholarship to support his research in semiconductor materials

Mondal works to improve the operation of electronic and optoelectronic devices using III-Nitride based semiconductor materials.

2024 EECS Outstanding Achievement Awards

The EECS Department has honored four faculty for their sustained excellence in instruction and curricular development, distinguished participation in service activities, or for their significant achievements in scholarly research.

Mack Kira receives CoE Monroe-Brown Foundation Service Excellence Award

Prof. Kira’s efforts led directly to the establishment of the University of Michigan Quantum Research Institute.

Fawwaz Ulaby receives CoE Edward Law Emeritus Outstanding Service Award

Prof. Ulaby spearheaded and manages the Free ECE Textbook Initiative, benefiting students around the world.

Leland Pierce receives the Jon R. and Beverly S. Holt Award for Excellence in Teaching

Dr. Pierce’s heroic efforts to turn a hands-on lab into a virtual learning experience were highly successful.

Zetian Mi receives CoE Rexford E. Hall Innovation Excellence Award

Prof. Mi has launched two startup companies to promote his pioneering research in artificial photosynthesis and GaN nanoLEDs for applications in sustainable energy, displays and disinfection.

Andrew Owens receives CoE 1938E Award

Prof. Owens brought a fresh approach to teaching the enormously popular field of computer vision, while caring deeply about the wellbeing of his students.

Large open dataset aims to improve understanding of building electricity demand response

Data collected from 14 commercial buildings can help inform efforts to balance electrical grids, maintaining reliability.

Linking online and offline social networks to better predict real world impact

Prof. Lei Ying leads a new MURI that is focused on the interplay between online and offline networks and how they could impact disruptive behavior and events.

Living Labs: testing energy efficiency and flexibility in University buildings

Researchers advocate for pairing real-world data with model-based simulations to help the U.S. decarbonize and electrify commercial buildings.

ECE PhD student Duncan Madden recognized for his work on antenna arrays

Duncan Madden received 2nd place in the 2024 Ernest K. Smith USNC-URSI student paper competition.

Janice M. Jenkins (1932-2023): In Memoriam

Janice Jenkins, the first female faculty member in EECS, was a trailblazer who left a distinguished legacy.

Michael McCorquodale (1974-2023): In Memoriam

Dr. McCorquodale, recipient of the 2009 CoE Alumni Society Recent Engineering Graduate award, left a legacy of entrepreneurial excellence and unwavering support of students.

Seven ECE staff recognized for their outstanding contributions to the ECE community

Devon Degraffenreed, Misha Erementchouk, Jeff Horosko, Elizabeth Oxford, Eva Ruff, Ann Stals, and Punam Vyas received the CoE Staff Incentive Award for their contributions to ECE.

Nouman Khan works to study and improve the operation of multi-agent systems and networks

Khan was awarded a Rackham International Student Fellowship for his research on data-driven control of multi-agent systems, as well as research that studies the spread of information in networks.

Improving generative AI models for real-world medical imaging

Professors Liyue Shen, Qing Qu, and Jeff Fessler are working to develop efficient diffusion models for a variety of practical scientific and medical applications.