IGERT Formal Proposal: Variable Speed Electromechanical Drive Systems

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This Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports the establishment of a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional graduate training program in education, research and development on variable-speed electromechanical drive systems. This activity is a joint effort of fourteen faculty from the Departments of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering, Computer Science, and English from the University of Missouri-Rolla and the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. This project integrates graduate students, faculty, and affiliates from industry and national laboratories to: i) characterize the electrical, mechanical, thermal, and acoustic power-electronics-induced effects on system components, ii) develop computer-aided analysis and design methodologies, iii) develop EMI, acoustic, and vibration mitigation strategies, and iv) develop system-level integration and control. The novel educational initiatives of this project include: multidisciplinary research teams of student consultants; industrial internships to introduce students to industrial requirements and focus their research; an intensive writing program to improve communication skills; research and engineering ethics seminars; multi-university course-sharing to expose students to a wide variety of ideas and expertise unique to each institution; and an emphasis on laboratory skills to help students integrate theoretical and practical aspects of research. Approximately forty graduate students will be supported with IGERT funds over five years.IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to facilitate the establishment of innovative, research-based graduate programs that will train a diverse group of scientists and engineers to be well-prepared to take advantage of a broad spectrum of career options. IGERT provides doctoral institutions with an opportunity to develop new, well-focussed multidisciplinary graduate programs that transcend organizational boundaries and unite faculty from several departments or institutions to establish a highly interactive, collaborative environment for both training and research. In this second year of the program, awards are being made to twenty one institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. This specific award is supported by funds from the Directorates for Engineering, for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, and for Education and Human Resources.