Mark Pankow

This Agreement is made by and between North Carolina State University at Raleigh, North Carolina and Oculus. The parties to this Agreement intend to join together in a cooperative effort to support a University/Industry Precision Engineering Center at UNIVERSITY such that the UNIVERSITY environment can be used to develop a better understanding of Precision Engineering, stimulate industrial innovation; and provide UNIVERSITY with strengthened educational capability in these fields, and MEMBER with the latest advances in technology.

The NSF IUCRC for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) is specialized at innovating advanced fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and techniques for the rapid repair, strengthening or replacement of highway, railway, waterway, bridge, building, pipeline and other critical civil infrastructure. The Center consists of West Virginia University (WVU) as the lead institution in the current Phase II, with North Carolina State University (NCSU), the University of Miami (UM), and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) as partner university sites. The primary objective of the Center is to accelerate the adoption of polymer composites and innovative construction materials into infrastructure through joint research programs between the university sites in collaboration with the composites and construction industries. In Phase III, CICI aims to broaden its scope of research in composites to include: 1) nondestructive testing methods; 2) manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing; 3) inspection techniques, such as the use of drones with high resolution cameras; 4) in-situ modifications of infrastructure systems, resulting in enhanced durability and thermo-mechanical properties; and 5) cost-effective recycling of high value composites.

Mass spectrometry is an extraordinarily powerful bioanalytical technique that has had a profound impact on our molecular understanding of human health and disease. Major advances in mass analyzer technology, dissociation techniques, lasers, and ionization methods are largely attributed to the central role that mass spectrometry plays in the field of systems biology. While mass spectrometry has evolved over the last century into a highly effective analytical tool, there remain significant opportunities for innovation, allowing an even more diverse array of biological questions to be addressed. This proposal is centered on the development of new ionization methods for biological mass spectrometry to enable tissue imaging across several classes of biological molecules. The short term objective of this proposal is to further develop and fundamentally understand this innovative ionization method using real biological systems. These results will provide a solid foundation from which biological applications will directly benefit. In this mindset, we will develop and apply these new ionization methods to tissue imaging in model organisms to gain mechanistic insights into, 1) ischemic stroke; 2) wound healing; and 3) cardiometabolic disease. The long-term objective is to establish these new ionization methods as an enabling bioanalytical technology to effectively address questions in human health and disease. Public Description of Proposed Research Mass spectrometry (MS), the science related to the “weighing of molecules”, has had a profound impact on the study of human health and disease including cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, neural development, and auto-immune diseases. A prerequisite of MS is to convert neutral molecules into charged species (ions) such that they can be “weighed” by the mass spectrometer and identified by advanced analytical techniques. The focus of this research is to develop new ionization methods allowing a more diverse array of contemporary biomedical questions to be addressed. This will include the imaging of tissues to ultimately provide new biological insights into stroke, wound healing and cardiometabolic disease.

Many of the fibers in production are naturally birefringent materials, which allows us to reveal the internal stresses, defects and non-uniformities that are developed in the fibers during production through optical polarization imaging. We will use a custom high-speed polarized imaging system to monitor the initiation and propagation of fiber defects during production. By varying the processing parameters, we can observe the evolution of the defects and non-uniformities and determine what parameters affect their development. The details of this research will provide understanding of the key limitations to speeding up production and in-situ feedback within fiber spinning equipment lines.

The goal of this project is to develop a method for on machine measuring of lens geometry and thickness using a chromatic confocal probe. Taking measurements using a chromatic confocal probe is relatively straight forward at normal incidence. However, it is rare for the probe to remain normal with the sample surface during measurement. Other factors including aspherical shape, scanning patterns, and the testing environment can cause additional challenges. This project will characterize the errors associated with probe measurements at varying angle of incidence and alignments. Methods will also be considered for measuring free form lens surfaces and their thickness based on multiple measurement techniques and setups to reduce mounting errors and improve part measurement efficiency.

The goal of this project is to measure the error motion in a precision lathe and create a calibration scheme that can be used to quantify and reduce error motion in a 5-axis precision machine. Use of a confocal probe is prioritized for error measurement and understanding probe error and its effects on measurements. The calibration scheme will be tested on available systems housed in the PEC and consider both position dependent and independent errors. The optimal means and order of measuring the errors will be outlined and can be finalized through testing on available 5-axis precision machines. Finally, validation of the error compensations will be completed through artifact manufacturing and measurement.

This Agreement is made by and between North Carolina State University at Raleigh, North Carolina and Smart Material Solutions. The parties to this Agreement intend to join together in a cooperative effort to support a University/Industry Precision Engineering Consortium effort at North Carolina State University such that both North Carolina State University and Smart Material Solutions environments can be used to develop a better understanding of Precision Engineering, stimulate industrial innovation; and provide North Carolina State University with strengthened educational capability in these fields, and Smart Material Solutions with the latest advances in technology.

Experimental and computational investigation of textile composites

This Agreement is made by and between North Carolina State University at Raleigh, North Carolina and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The parties to this Agreement intend to join together in a cooperative effort to support a University/Industry Precision Engineering Center at UNIVERSITY such that the UNIVERSITY environment can be used to develop a better understanding of Precision Engineering, stimulate industrial innovation; and provide UNIVERSITY with strengthened educational capability in these fields, and MEMBER with the latest advances in technology.

IPA assignment for Dr. Pankow