Electrical & Computer Engineering Research

Why Study Computing Architectures at Portland State University?

Device scaling, software complexity, adaptability, energy consumption, and fabrication economics indicate that the current computing paradigm cannot continue to deliver improvements at the rate we have enjoyed. To advance technologically and reap corresponding social and economic benefits, computing must become far more capable and energy-efficient. To enable new generations of computationally- and energy-efficient information processing engines over the next decade, our research focuses on a reconceptualization of the science and technology underlying the current approaches to co-design emerging devices, materials, interconnects, and physical phenomena.

The foundations of existing computing technology rely on equilibrium properties of closed thermodynamic systems where mass is conserved, and conventional computer science emphasizes trade-offs between memory resources and the number of time-steps needed to perform a given computation. However, the next generation of computing systems requires qualitative improvements over conventional CMOS, rather than merely continuing transistor scaling, especially to achieve thermodynamic efficiency. For example, newly available switching devices are being evaluated as building blocks for hybrid-CMOS and beyond-CMOS computing, and numerous devices exhibit exciting capabilities.

How will these new systems be modeled and programmed? Understanding and using new computing models based on unexploited phenomena will include developing hardware architectures, programming models, algorithms, runtime environments, and real-world applications. Our research focuses on developing novel device, circuit, and architecture concepts to exploit the unique physical properties of new materials. A long-term goal is to develop a generalized theory comprising digital, neuromorphic, and unconventional computing. Our proposed approach is exploratory, non-traditional, multi-disciplinary, and has the potential for breakthroughs and novel applications.

Our research has broad implications by enabling more computationally- and energy-efficient information processing systems for tomorrow's society, which continues to rely on mobile, battery-powered, edge devices as well as data centers.

Associated Faculty

• John M. Acken
• Malgorzata Chrzanowska-Jeske
• Douglas Hall
• Yuchen Huang
• Jamie Kennedy
• Roy Kravitz
• Venkatesh Patil
• Branimir Pejčinović
• Marek Perkowski
• Xiaoyu Song
• Ivan Sutherland
• Jamel Tayeb
• Christof Teuscher

Why Study Environmental Sensing and Monitoring (ESM) at Portland State University?

Most of the leading institutions working in environmental sensing are focused on the environmental, oceanographic, and atmospheric sciences. However, there is a strong movement within environmental sensing towards deployment of large numbers of sensors (and collecting large amounts of data), lowering the cost of sensors (necessary for deploying large numbers), reducing the size of sensors, consuming lower power and performing autonomous (on-board) signal processing and efficient data transmission. These trends are partly driven by advances in big data analytics but also by the increasing availability of unmanned platforms. Both massive sensor deployments and using aerial and underwater unmanned platforms (drones) provide new ways to sense but also place severe restrictions on size, power and communication data rates. The areas of sensor system development, on-board signal processing, controls, communications, and power are all core to Electrical Engineering. At Portland State, we focus on the Electrical Engineering challenges associated with the future of environmental sensing and monitoring. 

Associated Faculty

• Charles Holland
• John Lipor
• Mark Martin
• George (譲治) McDonald
• James McNames
• Josh Méndez
• Martin Siderius
• Tim Sonnemann

Why Study Power Engineering at Portland State University?

The Electrical & Computer Engineering Department at Portland State University currently has two areas focused on electric power: Dr. Bass's Power Engineering Group and Dr. Bird's Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion & Control.

Associated Faculty

• Bob Bass
• Jonathan Bird

Power Engineering Group

Overview

The Power Engineering Group's (PEG) research addresses the engineering challenges to the electric power system that arise from large-scale societal issues such as natural disasters, climate change, and cyber-physical security threats. The PEG develops technology and methods to coordinate the dispatch of distributed loads, generators, and energy storage devices to provide utility services that improve power system reliability and facilitate the integration of renewable energy resources.

Faculty

Dr. Robert Bass holds a PhD from the University of Virginia. He joined the PSU Electrical & Computer Engineering department in 2011. Dr. Bass has extensive experience developing power engineering education programs, power engineering curricula, and hands-on engineering education laboratories. He established and directs the power engineering BS EE and MS ECE programs at PSU.  Dr. Bass specializes in teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on electric power, electromechanical energy conversion, distributed energy resources, industrial controls, and power systems analysis. He has taught over 150 engineering courses, and he has developed thirty-five power-related courses, including many focused on renewable energy engineering.  Dr. Bass has developed a variety of teaching laboratories, with foci on electric power and machines, photovoltaics, electrochemistry and fuel cells, industrial controls, thermal and fluid systems, power systems protection, power systems analysis and power electronics.  Dr. Bass has raised over $5M in funding specifically for power engineering program development. He has been successful at attracting funding from a wide variety of sources, including federal, state, industry, and private gifts.

Research and Funding

PEG research students develop engineering solutions that address challenges imposed on our rapidly-changing electric power system. The large-scale adoption of renewable generation in response to climate change requires the power system be operated in ways distinctly different from the past. And, the adoption of information technology and data science by utilities has provided new opportunities, and presented new challenges, to power systems operators.

PEG research students work in partnership with electric utility engineers to understand these challenges and to develop impactful engineering solutions.  

For example, PEG students are investigating the dispatchability of aggregated residential-scale assets in response to utility ancillary service requests.  Students conduct performance evaluations on residential assets, including water heaters and battery-inverter systems.  They evaluate the dispatchability of these assets in response service request, such as frequency response, frequency regulation, peak demand mitigation, and EIM RTM.  PEG students are helping the industry understand how residential assets can be used to provide ancillary services.  The PEG is interested in understanding asset characteristics, such as response lags, ramp rates, energy availability, methods execution, etc., of residential-scale assets in response to these ancillary service requests.  By dispatching ancillary services through residential load control, a utility can include a higher proportion of renewable resources within its generation portfolio.

The Power Engineering Group has received research funding from Portland General Electric, Bonneville Power Administration, Electric Power Research Institute, QualityLogic, Oregon Torrefaction, US DOE NETL & SBIR, Oregon BEST, and the Oregon Talent Council.

Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion and Control

Overview

Dr. Bird’s Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion and Control’s current research focus is on designing magnetically geared electric machines for wind and ocean renewable power generation applications, electrical machines for transportation applications, and computational electromagnetic modelling.

Visit the Laboratory for Magnetomechanical Energy Conversion and Control's website for more information.

Faculty

Dr. Jonathan Bird’s research areas are at the intersection of applied electromagnetics, mechanics and controls. His graduate work involved investigating the performance capabilities of an electrodynamic wheel for high-speed ground transportation applications. While at General Motors, Dr. Bird designed high torque density induction and interior permanent magnet motors for hybrid and fuel-cell vehicle applications. At Portland State University Dr. Bird has been continuing his research into the use of electrodynamic wheels as well as investigating the capabilities of magnetically geared electrical machines for wind and ocean power generation applications.  Dr. Bird has authored or coauthored over 40 peer reviewed papers in major journals and conferences. Dr. Bird’s research has been funded by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, NASA and the North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute.