Research assistants in Purdue Polytechnic displayed research projects at the Realizing the Digital Enterprise Graduate Student Poster Session.

The liquid metal cyborg in ”Terminator 2” inspired Richard Voyles and a team of researchers to work toward developing a ”smart product printer” that combines the printing of a structure with the printing of electronics, sensing and other functions.

Daniel Leon-Salas, associate professor in Purdue Polytechnic’s School of Engineering Technology, led a research team that has patented a way to transmit power and information between IoT devices using only light.

Blueavion f1, an airport sensor system co-developed by John Mott, associate professor of aviation technology, is now available commercially. The product was tested at the Purdue University Airport.

A knowledge gap in the development of alternative aviation fuels led to the creation of the Fuel Laboratory of Renewable Energy (FLORE), a new interdisciplinary research lab in Purdue’s Potter Engineering Center directed by Gozdem Kilaz, assistant professor of engineering technology.

Victor Chen, assistant professor of computer graphics technology, specializes in information visualization. He converts abstract data into images which are complex yet understandable. Each graphic Chen creates is as individual as its underlying data, with the resulting images resembling elegant, mechanical snowflakes.

Petr Vozka, a graduate student in the School of Engineering Technology, hopes to make the certification process for alternative fuels easier by constructing bridges between fuel chemistry and performance.

Jorge León, a graduate research assistant working with José Garcia-Bravo in the School of Engineering Technology, hopes to use hydraulic devices and fuzzy logic theory to maximize the energy efficiency in electric busses.

Xingtao Liu, graduate teaching assistant in engineering technology, conducts research with Xiaoming Wang, assistant professor of engineering technology, on how grain refinement occurs in aluminum. With this information, the aluminum casting industry may create fewer defects, improve product quality and reduce energy usage during manufacturing.

By characterizing and enhancing the material properties of dielectric electroactive polymers, Brittany Newell, assistant professor of engineering technology, develops sensors that can send information and react to specific conditions. These sensors can be used to notify technicians and postpone failure in industrial and medical applications.