University of Dayton School of Engineering awarded federal Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative funds
Dayton, OH -- The University of Dayton School of Engineering is among an elite group of universities securing federal Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) funds, joining six Ivy League schools, MIT and New York University in the latest round of awards.
The University will lead the three-year, $4.5-million project, which can be extended for two years and includes the Air Force Institute of Technology, Michigan Technological University, North Carolina State University, New Mexico State University and the University of Miami.
The University has long had a prominent engineering research portfolio, ranking 23rd nationally in sponsored engineering research and development. The School of Engineering leads a project in a MURI program that mainly features elite engineering programs, according to Mikhail Vorontsov, professor and Wright Brothers endowed chair in the University of Dayton School of Engineering, principal investigator on the MURI project.
Vorontsov commented that the funding is likely to allow his Intelligent Optics Laboratory to add high-tech jobs in the Dayton area.
The group will study how atmospheric conditions affect performance of various optical systems operating over long distances, around 200 miles and sometimes farther. Vorontsov's group has studied laser beam propagation over 4.2 miles between the University's College Park Center and the Dayton VA Medical Center and over 92 miles between two Hawaiian islands.
"We will look at how the curvature of the Earth, clouds and other atmospheric conditions cause the degradation or loss of data, why and how often. Then, we'll try to find ways to mitigate those effects and build better optical systems including laser communications, lidars (radar using laser beams), imaging and laser beam projection," Vorontsov said.
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