T HE NATIONAL SCIENCE

Foundation has reached out andtouched UL Lafayette researcher

Hongyi Wu. Wu’s work to streamline and

improve wireless technologies receiveda $460,000 boost this fall from thefoundation, which has a reputation forfunding only the most innovative

research proposals. The Faculty EarlyCareer Development award is presentedto faculty who apply no more than fiveyears after completing their doctorates.

Wu, who is in his second year asan assistant professor in UL Lafayette’sCenter for Advanced Computer Studies,received the award the first time heapplied for it — an unusual and stellar

achievement, said Dr. Magdy Bayoumi,the center’s director.

“This award is classified as one ofthe high awards for junior faculty,”Bayoumi said. “Usually, people frombig schools, big names get this award.Our program obviously has a verystrong reputation.

“A faculty member has three

Calling Dr. WuProfessor’s wireless technology research wins prestigious award • by James Savage

RESEARCH

A $460,000 award from the National Science Foundation will further Dr. Hongyi Wu’s research on the future of wireless technology.

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chances to apply within five years of hisgraduation. Some will get it after theirsecond or third try. Dr. Wu won it the firsttime that he applied for it. It is like ahome run. There was no doubt or hesita-tion on the part of NSF. It is a big testimo-ny to the quality of research he is doing,”Bayoumi said.

Wu’s proposal for the future of wirelesscommunication aims to form a more perfectunion of networking technology. Simply put,systems for mobile telephones and wirelesscomputer networking, among others, all runon different circuits from different stations.Wu wants to bring them all together in oneintegrated “multi-hop” platform.

“Many different wireless technologieshave developed over the years and I amsure there are many more to come,” Wusaid. “Different wireless technologies havetheir own applications. For example, thecell phone system was designed to supportthe voice traffic of mobile users. Now, peo-ple are extending the cell phone system tosupport data traffic,” such as phones thatrelay photographic images.

“The emergence of these heteroge-neous wireless technologies . . . calls for aubiquitous and integrated wireless system,to provide mobile users with the mostcost-effective service available anytime andanywhere,” Wu continued. “The multi-hopwireless networking technology can signif-icantly reduce the investment of the serv-ice providers and the service fees of themobile users. The integrated wireless sys-tem has many attractive applications and ahuge potential market.”

Wu uses the example of a passengertrain to demonstrate why the integratedtechnology is essential for the future ofwireless communication. As the trainmoves down the track, it will pass stationsthat unify data and voice technologies andallow computer and telephone communi-cations to continue uninterrupted. “In gen-eral, the integrated system provides flexi-ble and cost-effective wireless communica-tion for modern mobile users,” Wu said.

There are challenges, however. “ . . .for example, how to enhance multi-hopwireless networks with the support ofexisting network infrastructure, how todiscover available access networks, how toswitch between different networks, how topage mobile users, how to authenticatemobile users, how to bill mobile users —

in a nutshell, how to make the integratedsystem work efficiently.”

Wu believes the infusion of fundingfrom the National Science Foundation willhelp answer these questions and othersthat will invariably come up as his researchcontinues. That’s the goal of the award,said Rita Colwell, the foundation’s director.

“These awards support exceptionallypromising college and university junior facul-ty who are committed to the integration ofresearch and education,” Colwell said.“Awardees are selected on the basis of cre-ative, career-development plans that effective-ly integrate research and education with thecontext of the mission of their institution.The award places emphasis on high-qualityresearch and novel education initiatives.” ■

LA LOUISIANE | FALL 2004 3

Dr. Hongyi Wu’s work with wireless technology does not apply to just cellphones and computers. Wireless sensors are at the center of a multi-universityeffort to aid Louisiana’s oil and gas industry.

UL Lafayette researchers have taken the lead in developing UCoMs, a monitoringsystem to track petroleum production and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. TheU.S. Department of Energy awarded the project a $1.2 million grant in early fall; thatamount was matched by the Louisiana Board of Regents. The three universitiesinvolved in the program, UL Lafayette, Southern University and LSU in Baton Rouge,pledged a combined $1.5 million, for a total of $3.9 million.

The wireless sensors will gather information from offshore sites that performvarious tasks, such as drilling, collecting seismic data, tracking marine life anddetecting coral beds.

Wu said the goal of UCoMs — an acronym for ubiquitous computer and moni-toring system — is boosting the Gulf’s petroleum productivity by providing oil com-panies with an efficient means to monitor offshore conditions.

“Most current sensors are connected via cables to the monitoring and controlunits,” Wu said. “In this project, wireless sensors are to be deployed, which willresult in a more flexible and cost-effective sensor system.”

Providing domestic producers with cost-saving technologies is key in reducingthe United States’ dependence on foreign oil sources, said Dr. E. Joseph Savoie, thestate’s commissioner of higher education.

“Increasing our nation’s domestic petroleum supply and decreasing its depend-ence on petroleum imports relies heavily on the efficient production of energyresources in the Gulf of Mexico. It is also imperative for Louisiana’s economy to moreprogressively employ emerging technologies to enhance energy productivity andmanagement,” Savoie said.

Oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico’s Outer Continental Shelf funnels$6 billion annually into the federal treasury, the second largest revenue source for theU.S. government. The first: the Internal Revenue Service.

In addition to Wu, UL Lafayette researchers on the UCoMs team are Nian-FengTzeng, principal investigator; Dr. Magdy Bayoumi, director of the Center forAdvanced Computer Studies; and Dmitri Perkins, assistant professor of computer sci-ence. Industrial partners include Stone Energy Corp. and Fenstermaker andAssociates Inc., both of Lafayette, and Landmark Graphics in Austin, Texas. ■

UNIVERSITY LEADS OFFSHORE MONITORING EFFORT

“Awardees are selected on the basis of creative,

career-development plans that effectively integrate

research and education with the context of the

mission of their institution.“

RITA COLWELL, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

SCOTT FRANCE SPENT MOST OF HIS

summer looking for new and rarecoral living off the New EnglandSeamounts, a chain of underwatervolcanoes.

The assistant pro-fessor of biology is on amission to unravel theorganism’s genetic codes.

He has two majorobjectives. The first is toreveal the existence ofspecies that look sosimilar that it is nearlyimpossible to distin-guish between them. Healso seeks to determinewhether populations ofa single species distrib-uted across multipleseamounts are isolated.

“Many people areunaware that corals livein habitats other than tropical reefs.Deep-sea corals may provide impor-tant habitat for other species, muchlike trees of a forest provide habitat

for other forest species,” he said.France was among a group of

scientists, students and technicianswho were on a two-week exploration

trip sponsored by the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-tration’s Office of Ocean Exploration.

The researchers used Hercules,

a deep-sea submersible equippedwith high-definition cameras andtwo remote-control arms, to photo-graph and sample coral specimens.

Their work was per-formed between 1 and2.3 miles deep.

“Our focus this timewas to return to the NewEngland Seamounts, achain of extinct volca-noes that extends outalmost 1,000 miles fromCape Cod, to explorenew seamounts and torevisit in greater detailseamounts we saw lastyear. . . ” France said.

As part of the expe-dition, he and a graduatestudent collected tissuesamples from theseamount corals. They

are now sequencing portions of thecorals’ DNA and comparing them todetermine the evolutionary relation-ships among the corals.

CajunBot has delivered more recognition to Dr. Arun Lakhotia.The UL Lafayette computer science professor is a 2004 recipient of the

Governor’s Technology Award as the University Leader of the Year. Theaward is considered among the highest honors the state bestows in the fieldof technology.

Lakhotia and his team of students and faculty developed CajunBot, anautonomous robotic vehicle, as an entry in this year’s U.S. Department ofDefense’s Grand Challenge. A $1 million prize awaited the team whose vehi-cle was the first to navigate the 154-mile course between Barstow, Calif.,and Las Vegas.

More than 100 teams applied from universities nationwide, many thatare known as leaders in robotics technology. Despite the long odds,CajunBot was among the 13 that actually made it to the competition.

None finished the race, but the UL Lafayette team’s entry captured theattention of the national media. It was featured on CNN and “The CBSEvening News,” among others.

It also enhanced UL Lafayette’s reputation in the field of robotics.“ . . . the effort placed (UL Lafayette) firmly on the international robotics

map with the likes of Carnegie Mellon University, Cal-Berkeley and CalTech,” reported the 2004-05 edition of the Louisiana Technology Guide.

The Governor’s Technology Award also honored Lakhotia’s efforts to make UL Lafayette a National Center ofExcellence in cyber security. It was presented during an October ceremony in Baton Rouge.

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TEAM CAJUNBOT LEADER TAPPED FOR TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Dr. Arun Lakhotia

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UL Lafayette researcher Dr. Scott France, right, prepares an Isidella

coral specimen for analysis. A detail of the Isidella is at left.

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Two UL Lafayette researchers were instrumental in winning FDA clearance for a device that com-bines several functions previously performed by ophthalmologists during LASIK surgery.

The LaFaci Surgical System was designed by Lafayette surgeon and UL Lafayette graduate Dr.Leon C. LaHaye. It provides improved surgical results and safety during the LASIK procedure, whichuses lasers to correct vision abnormalities.

LaHaye consulted UL Lafayette engineering professors Dr. Fred Farshad and Dr. Herman Reikeafter the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked for additional data before it would approve thehand-held device. The professors, along with a team of three graduate students in UL Lafayette’sChemical Engineering Department, examined liquid flow, irrigation, aspiration and air delivery con-ditions in the LaFaci system. The UL Lafayette team’s findings were integrated into a final reportpresented to the FDA. Less than two weeks later, LaHaye received clearance for the device.

LaHaye is a 1974 graduate of USL. He has practiced ophthalmology and eye surgery for 19 years. The surgical system was unveiled during a fall press conference at the UL Lafayette Alumni

Center. At the gathering, university President Dr. Ray Authement said LaHaye’s accomplishmentsmay be overshadowed in the public’s eye by a series of testimonial advertisements featuring SuperBowl quarterback (and LaHaye patient) Jake Delhomme. The Breaux Bridge native is quarterbackfor the Carolina Panthers and a former USL Ragin’ Cajuns® standout.

“Dr. LaHaye can do all these things — be an innovator, an inventor, an outstanding physician —but I suggest to you that he’ll best be known for making Jake Delhomme’s eyes see the whole field,” Authement joked.

The president noted that LaHaye’s return to the university three decades after his graduation to seek assistance for the LaFaciproject is “an example of what universities should do.”

“Young people come to the university and, after graduation, we send them out into the world,” he said. “But to have the same peoplecome back and continue to seek assistance from the university indicates that our commitment to our students is never truly finished.”

LAFAYETTE IS DOING AN EXCEPTIONAL JOB

of attracting high-tech businesses, thanksto a strong entrepreneurial spirit and ULLafayette.

That’s the assessment of an article inthe October 2004 issue of Entrepreneurmagazine entitled “Tech in the City.”Lafayette was one of only four cities fea-tured for their efforts.

“While it seems an unlikely pick,Lafayette, with its progressive University ofLouisiana (at) Lafayette and the city’s entre-preneurial spirit, is doing a lot of things toattract high-tech businesses,” the articlestates. The other cities are Camden, N.J.;Tuscon, Ariz.; and Madison, Wis.

The proposed Acadiana TechnologyImmersion Center, a joint effort betweenUL Lafayette and the Lafayette EconomicDevelopment Authority, is cited as anexample of the city’s offerings. A state-fund-ed, $18 million facility, ATIC will feature 3-D visualizations that are similar to virtualreality. It will open in University ResearchPark in 2005.

According to Rob Koepp, research fel-low at the Milken Institute in Santa Moni-

ca, Calif., only large companies historicallyhave built such technologically sophisticat-ed facilities – for their own use.

“But this center will be publicly avail-able, so small and (mid-size) companies can makeuse of it,” he stated in theEntrepreneur article.

Koepp also noted thatLafayette’s oil and gasindustry supports manyengineering firms and haswell-trained employees.

“Many of those peopleare UL Lafayette gradu-ates,” said Dr. Ray Authe-ment, university presi-dent, in response to theEntrepreneur article. “Pro-ducing well-educatedgraduates is the universi-ty’s primary focus, but its resources andresearchers play major roles in Lafayette’sefforts to become the technological hub ofLouisiana.

“Partnerships between the university,government and private industry are creating

frontiers in technology that are very enticing.” Gregg Gothreaux, executive director of

the Lafayette Economic DevelopmentAuthority, said it’s gratifying to get nation-

wide recognition forhigh-tech expertise.“Our innovation andentrepreneurship arepropelling Lafayette andAcadiana into the fore-front of the global tech-nology community.”

An array of privatesector partners are likelyto tap into the uniquecomputational andimaging capabilitiesavailable at the facility.Researchers at ULLafayette’s Center forBusiness and Informa-

tion Technology, its Center for AdvancedComputer Studies and its Energy Institutewill work with those groups to developapplied research opportunities that areexpected to result in new sources of eco-nomic growth for Acadiana and Louisiana.

LA LOUISIANE | FALL 2004 5

DEVICE CLEARS FDA HURDLE, THANKS TO RESEARCHERS

UL Lafayette at Center of City’s Growth as High-Tech Hub

Dr. Leon C. LaHaye’s LaFaci

system combines 11 surgical

functions into one device.

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