Sam Nunn Security Program
Sam Nunn Fellows 2006-2007
- Pre-Doctoral Fellows
-
-
Santiago Balestrini-Robinson
Aerospace Engineering
Santiago holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory under Professor Mavris. He has worked for the Office of Naval Research under the Integrated Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems initiative, in support of the Integrated Engineering Plant program which will enable the development of more capable, survivable surface ships for the U.S. Navy. He is currently conducting research on the Sea Base concept, a central pillar to the US Navy's Sea Power 21 vision. In order to develop an affordable and comprehensive solution to the problem of supporting global operations, part of the research is focused on studying the relations that the United States can establish with other nations to allow them to field units and traverse their sovereign territory and air space.
-
Anthony Dickherber
Bioengineering
Anthony Dickherber is a fourth year doctoral candidate in Bioengineering. His work involves microelectronic acoustic biosensor technology. His father was a diplomat with the Department of State, and he has lived in Niger, Tunisia, Pakistan and the Philippines.
-
Laura Draucker
Chemical Engineering
Laura Draucker is a fourth year doctoral candidate in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Her research addresses applications of novel solvents to renewable resources as a source of high-value added chemicals. Her policy interests are in the area of sustainable development and environmental protection.
-
Elizabeth Hill
Chemical Engineering
Elizabeth Hill received her Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester in 2003. She is currently a PhD student in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. Her focus is on specialty separations including homogeneous enzyme recycle for the production of chiral drug precursors and biomass extractions for chemical feedstock and alternative fuels.
-
Jeffrey King
Computer Science
Jeffrey King is a fifth year doctoral candidate in the College of Computing. His research is in the area of information security and applied cryptography. He has been published in Scientia and in proceedings on Financial Cryptography and Data Security.
-
Kevin Klein
Mechanical Engineering
Kevin Klein is a doctoral candidate in the school of Mechanical Engineering. His dissertation is entitled: Nano-scaled Cantilevers for an Ultra Sensitive Bio-Assay. His work may prove useful in sensor technologies used for homeland security.
-
John Melonakos
Electrical and Computer Engineering
John is an Electrical and Computer Engineering PhD student studying computer vision algorithms for vision-guided security applications. Previously he worked on biological and chemical warfare agent detectors with Palmar Technologies under a Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) grant. From 1999 to 2001, John served as a missionary in Maracaibo, Venezuela. John graduated from Brigham Young University in 2004 with a BS in Electrical Engineering.
-
Erika Shehan
HUman-Centered Computing
Erika Shehan is a PhD student in Human-Centered Computing at Georgia Tech. She is currently researching social and technical approaches to empower people with little technical expertise to successfully set up and maintain networked technologies in their homes, as well as to help them understand and cope with security and privacy risks associated with daily computing activities. Erika is a member of the ACM U.S. Public Policy Committee, and holds fellowships from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation. She graduated from Purdue University in 2004 with a BS in Computer Science.
-
Diana Talley
Aerospace Engineering
Diana is an Aerospace Engineering PhD candidate in the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory under the advisement of Dr. Dimitri Mavris. Diana received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2003 and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 2004. She has worked on the conceptual design of a morphing Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) concept for Boeing Phantom Works as well as future commercial transport concepts for the Advanced Concepts Group in Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Diana currently is involved with the development of the Aviation Environmental Portfolio Management Tool (APMT), which is part of a comprehensive suite of software tools for the FAA that will allow for thorough assessment of the environmental effects of aviation. Additionally, as part of the NASA Graduate Student Researcher Program (GSRP) she is focusing on uncertainty modeling pertaining to the design of System-of-Systems.
-
- Post-Doctoral Fellows
-
-
Dr. Jan Osburg
Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Jan Osburg is a research engineer with the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia, where he specializes in aerospace and defense systems design methodology and tools, with a focus on increasing the efficient collaboration of interdisciplinary teams. As part of this research, he has helped ASDL create a next-generation “Collaborative Design Environment” that fosters design team interaction and creativity.
Dr. Osburg is the faculty advisor to the Georgia Tech student chapter of the Mars Society. He has been on several crews of the Mars Society's Desert Research Station in Utah and Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island, twice as crew commander, but also as executive officer, health and safety officer, human factors researcher, and station engineer.
He previously worked at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, where he lectured on systems design, space flight life support systems, and human factors, and directed international student workshops on space station design.
Dr. Osburg has a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Stuttgart and a Masters degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Tech. He holds multiple certifications in emergency management and disaster preparedness from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Awards include an “SAE Excellence in Oral Presentation” award and the “Best Dissertation” award from a German academic organization. A list of publications and additional information is available at http://www.janosburg.net.
-
- Faculty Fellows
-
-
Professor Dimitri Mavris
Aerospace Engineering - Director of the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory
Dimitri Mavris is the Boeing Professor of Advanced Aerospace Systems Analysis at the Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the director of its Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL). Initially appointed as assistant professor in 1996, Dr. Mavris now advises over 150 graduate students, of which 70 are on a PhD track. Dr. Mavris teaches classes on advanced design methods, fixed-wing vehicle design, and air-breathing propulsion design. In addition, he makes every effort to involve his students in his ongoing research in the fields of multi-disciplinary analysis, design and optimization, and non-deterministic design theory.
At the undergraduate level, Dr. Mavris’ primary goal is to engage undergraduate students and to increase their participation in the professional aerospace engineering community by creating opportunities for involvement within ASDL, particularly in the aircraft design arena. His efforts include teaching an undergraduate course in systems design for affordability as well as an introduction to aerospace engineering. Dr. Mavris also sponsors undergraduate design teams such as the AIAA Design-Build-Fly competition. This provides a unique opportunity to combine the design and manufacturing aspects of engineering with some real-life experience of working as a team, competing with other teams, and presenting to professionals.
Dr. Mavris has actively pursued closer ties between the academic and industrial communities in order to foster research opportunities and tailor the aerospace engineering curriculum towards meeting the future needs of the US aerospace industry. This has led to a record 20% of ASDL’s multi-million dollar annual research budget being derived from industry-sponsored projects. ASDL has been named a Center of Excellence in Robust Systems Design and Optimization under the General Electric University Strategic Alliance (GE USA), and by NASA under the University Research Engineering Technology Institute (URETI) on The Aeropropulsion and Power Technology (UAPT) program. ASDL is a member of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Center of Excellence under the Partnership for Air Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER).
Since co-founding ASDL in 1992, Dr. Mavris has received numerous awards and fellowships. In 1998, he was invited by the Boeing Company to observe current industry practice under the A.D. Welliver Faculty Fellowship. Dr. Mavris also received an NSF-sponsored CAREER award and grant in 1997 to research design for environmental issues, in conjunction with General Electric Aircraft Engines as industrial partner. In February 2000, Dr. Mavris was selected to fill the Boeing-sponsored chair for Advanced Aerospace Systems Analysis. Also in 2000, Dr. Mavris received SAE’s Ralph T. Teetor Educator of the Year Award. Dr. Mavris was awarded Georgia Tech’s prestigious Outstanding Development of Graduate Assistants Award in 1999 and again in 2004. Since August 2002, he is serving as Co-Director of NASA Glenn’s URETI on Aeropropulsion and Power. In 2004, Dr. Mavris was recognized as a Fellow of the National Institute of Aerospace.
Recent publications include:
Mavris, D.N., Roth, B.A., "Assessment of Uncertainty in Aerospace Propulsion System Design and Simulation," Presented at the 2003 JANNAF Joint Meeting, 1-5 December, Colorado Springs, CO.
Mavris, D.N., Bandte, O., DeLaurentis, D.A., “Robust Design Simulation: A Probabilistic Approach to Multidisciplinary Design, AIAA Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 298-307, Jan-Feb 1999.
Mavris, D.N., Kirby, M.R., Qiu, S., “Technology Impact Forecasting for a High Speed Civil Transport,” Presented at the 3rd World Aviation Congress and Exposition, Anaheim, CA, September 28-30, 1998.
-
Professor I. Charles Ume
Mechanical Engineering – Director of the Mechatronics Laboratory
I. Charles Ume is currently a Professor and Director of Mechatronics Instructional Laboratory & Advanced Electronic Packaging and Laser Processing Laboratory at the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering (ME), Georgia Tech. He joined the School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech in 1985 as an Assistant Professor. He received his BS degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1979, and MS and PhD degrees from the University of South Carolina in 1981 and 1985, respectively. Prof. Ume is the Founder and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, of AkroMetrix, LLC. AkroMetrix is a high-tech commercial enterprise company that grew out of his research endeavors at Georgia Tech. In 1989 and 1990, he was a Visiting Scientist at IBM-Austin and Motorola-Schaumburg, respectively. His research interests are in the areas of thermo-mechanical reliability of printed circuit board assemblies, laser ultrasound for process monitoring/control and for non-destructive evaluation of materials, and intelligent mechatronics. He has co-authored more than 160 refereed archival publications, three patents and five invention disclosures, and has edited 11 books (a book chapter, conference proceedings, a lab manual and special journal issues).
Prof. Ume was the advisor of the Sigma Xi Best PhD Dissertation Award Recipients in 1997 and 2006, and also the Sigma Xi Best MS Thesis Award recipient in 1987. He has advised/is advising 19 PhD and 38 MS students. In 1993 and 2000, he received the State of Georgia Faculty Commercialization Awards. He received the 1997 Best Paper of the Year Award, ASME Electrical and Electronic Packaging Division. In 1999, he received the Instrument Society of America E. G. Bailey Award. Prof. Ume was a member of the USA Delegation to South Africa who participated in the Manufacturing Research and Education Workshop sponsored by the United States National Science Foundation in 1997. In 2002, Prof. Ume received Georgia Tech’s Outstanding Interdisciplinary Activities (Research and Teaching) Award. In 2002, he also received The Donald P. Eckman Education Award from The Instrument, System, and Automation Society (ISA). In 2001 he was appointed the Vice Chancellor (President) of Anambra State University Science and Technology, Nigeria (he didn’t accept the offer). He is a Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of ASME, and a member of ASEE. He received The Nigerian National Order of Merit Award, the nation’s highest honor in science and technology, in December 2003. Dr. Ume is the recipient of the 2004 ASEE Robert G. Quinn Award for Excellence in Engineering Education. He is also the recipient of the 2005 IEEE-CPMT Outstanding Sustained Technical Contribution Award.
He is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Mechatronics Journal and an Associate Technical Editor of IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies. Prof. Ume was an Associate Technical Editor of the ASME Journal of Electronic Packaging, and a Regional Editor of Mechatronics Journal. He was the General Chair of The 7th Mechatronics Forum International Conference & Mechatronics Education Workshop, Atlanta, Sept. 6-8, 2000. Prof. Ume was the Program Chair for the Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division (EPPD), ASME, 2001, and the Technical Committee Chair on Electronic Manufacturing of ASME Manufacturing Science and Engineering Division. He is a member of the Executive Council of the ASME-EPPD.
-