Three engineering faculty have received prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Awards, boosting the Cockrell School’s total recipients this year to 11. The highly competitive award is the highest distinction that NSF can provide to junior researchers.
Assistant professors Orly Alter of Biomedical Engineering, Alexandre da Silva of Mechanical Engineering and Sarfraz Khurshid of Electrical and Computer Engineering each will receive $400,000-plus over five years.
Alter creates mathematical models from DNA microarray data by developing generalizations of the computations that underlie theoretical physics, and uses these models to predict previously unknown cellular mechanisms. Models such as these may become the means by which future physicians model and control biological systems as readily as engineers model and control physical systems today.
With his award, da Silva aims to develop self-optimizing, bio-inspired micro fluidic flow arrangements for thermal transport applications. Different from existing designs, these self-optimizing flow patterns are able to geometrically morph themselves in response to environmental conditions. Results from this project would allow thermal micro-fluidic systems to operate efficiently under diverse conditions.
Khurshid is developing novel techniques and tools for systematic and scalable testing and analysis of software systems to improve their reliability and to reduce the cost of software failures. Systematic testing and analysis using such well-founded and automated techniques are likely to significantly improve the ability to develop high-quality software that costs less and is more dependable.
Alter is the third Biomedical Engineering faculty member to win the award this year. Da Silva is the second in Mechanical Engineering, and Khurshid is the fifth in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
