Department of
Electrical
&Computer
Engineering
2008 Annual Report
1
staff
Heads of Department
Udaya Annakkage
Witold Kinsner
Cyrus Shafai
Head
Associate Head (Computer Engineering)
Associate Head (Electrical Engineering)
Administrative Staff
Judy Noble
Shelly Girardin
Traci Hofer
Karin Kroker
Joanne Morissette
Freya Sigfusson
Graduate Programs
Industry Internship Coordinator
Undergraduate Programs
Chief Technician
Ken Biegun
Daniel Card, P.Eng.
Dwayne Chrusch
James Dietrich
NT Laboratory Network
Engineer-in-Residence
Nanofabrication Laboratory Manager
CMC National Microelectronics and Photonics
Testing Collaboratory
Power Systems Group
High Voltage Laboratory, Nanofabrication
Laboratory
Electrical Shop
Network Administrator
Electical Shop
Machine Shop
Machine Shop
Applied Elecromagnetics Laboratory
Electromagnetics Imaging Laboratory
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Manitoba
E2-390 EITC Building
75A Chancellor’s Circle
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6
CANADA
+1 204 474–9603
inquiries@ece.umanitoba.ca
2
Greg Bridges
Douglas Buchanan
Jun Cai
Alan McKay
Sinisa Janjic
Guy Jonatschick
Mount-First Ng
Cory Smit
Allen Symmons
Brad Tabachnick
Zoran Trajkoski
Attahiru Alfa
Administrative Assistant
Technical Staff
Erwin Dirks
Daryl Hamelin
Academic Staff
Ioan Ciric
Ken Ferens
Shaahin Filizadeh
Wai-Keung Fung
Aniruddha Gole
Ekram Hossain
Witold Kinsner
Behzad Kordi
Joe LoVetri
Arkady Major
Robert McLeod
Dean McNeill
NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Teletraffic
Demand Forecasting and Performance Analysis
of Wireless/Mobile Communication Systems
Canada Research Chair in Microelectronic
Materials
Associate NSERC Industrial Research Chair
in Teletraffic Demand Forecasting and
Performance Analysis of Wireless/Mobile
Communication Systems
NSERC/Manitoba Hydro/Manitoba HVDC
Research Center/RTDS Technologies/Teshmont
Consultants Industrial Research Chair in Power
Systems Simulation
Associate Head (Computer Engineering)
Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of
Engineering
Canada Research Chair in Information
Processing for Intelligent Infrastructure
Zahra Moussavi
Vladimir Okhmatovski
Derek Oliver
Mirek Pawlak
James Peters
Athula Rajapakse
Cyrus Shafai
Associate Head (Electrical Engineering)
Lotfollah Shafai
Canada Research Chair in Applied
Electromagnetics
Sherif Sherif
Gabriel Thomas
Douglas Thomson
Pradeepa Yahampath
Blair Yoshida
overview
It is my pleasure to write this annual report, summarizing
my first year as the Head of the Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering. The Department has a
dedicated team of academic and support staff, which makes
the task of chairing this Department a great pleasure.
In this report I will outline: i) our efforts to keep our
undergraduate and graduate programs up to date; ii) major
improvements to our teaching and research facilities; and
iii) achievements of our students and staff.
In response to the current challenges facing the engineering
profession, major revisions to the two undergraduate
programs continued throughout 2008. These changes
began by enhancing the content of engineering design and
fundamental science in the two undergraduate programs.
These curriculum revisions will continue in the coming
years, introducing options of Biomedical Engineering,
Power and Energy Systems, Communications Networks,
Computational Vision, Robotics/Mechatronics and
Embedded Systems into the existing programs. I would
like to thank the curriculum committees of the Computer
Engineering and Electrical Engineering programs, headed
by the Associate Heads, Dr. W. Kinsner and Dr. C. Shafai,
and the Undergraduate Advisor, Freya Sigfusson, for doing
an excellent job.
As part of an on-going plan to upgrade undergraduate
teaching laboratories, we upgraded five laboratory
benches in the Electrical Machines laboratory with Power
Electronics units; added four test stations to the Capstone
Design laboratory; and added an optical communication
system tester to the Optoelectronics laboratory.
For the Industry Internship Program (IIP), 2008 was a good
year. We saw an increase in enrollment from 2007, with
a total of 13 students participating in the program. As we
look forward to 2009, we hope to take our accomplishments
from 2008 and build upon them to continue the success of
the program. Our success is due to many initiatives taken by
the IIP Coordinator, Joanne Morissette.
The graduate program in Electrical and Computer
Engineering consists of M.Eng., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree
programs. In 2008 there was a total of 143 students
registered in all programs, with 1 M.Eng., 67 M.Sc.
(48%), and 73 (52%) Ph.D. students. Students graduating
in 2008 included 18 M.Sc. and 9 Ph.D. With more than
$4.25M in research funds brought into the department
in 2008, it is apparent that the ECE department has a
successful and thriving graduate program. I would like
to thank the Graduate Studies Committee chaired by
Dr. Doug Buchanan, and the Graduate Student Advisor,
Karin Kroeker, for efficiently administrating the graduate
program.
During the year we had some changes to our staff. Dr.
Sherif Sherif joined us to support Biomedical Engineering
research. Drs. Sima Noghanian, and Reza Fazel left us
to join the University of North Dakota. Gordon Toole
retired after many years of service as a Technician. The
Undergraduate Advisor, Cindy DeCruyenaere, left and
Freya Sigfussion joined us to fill this position. Grace
McCaskill, who served as the support person to NSERC
Chair in Power System Simulation, left and Traci Hofer
filled her position.
On the research side, the efforts of establishing a sustainable
Biomedical Engineering program continued in 2008.
Laboratory facilities were expanded and Dr. Zahra
Moussavi was nominated for the position of Canada
Research Chair in Biomedical Engineering (BME). Newly
hired Dr. Sherif Sherif will focus his research on biomedical
applications of optics. Dr. Arkady Major received an NSERC
RTI grant to develop nonlinear laser microscopy and
spectroscopy facilities to the Biomedical Optics Laboratory.
In 2008 Professors in ECE published several books and
chapters of books, received three patents, and published
numerous articles in journals and conference proceedings.
The list of all publications is available on the ECE webpage.
The NSERC Industry Research Chair in Power System
Simulation, Dr. Ani Gole, received increased funding
from the existing Industry partners: Manitoba Hydro,
RTDS, Manitoba HVDC Research Centre, and Teshmont
Consultants, for the second five-year term of the Chair.
Two new Industry partners, Electranix Corporation and
Transgrid Solutions (TGS), also joined this second phase of
the Chair program.
New additions to research facilities include: an Ultra Sonic
Disc cutter for the Nano Systems Fabrication Laboratory
acquired by Dr. Derek Oliver; an ultrasound and a portable
Network Analyzer for non-destructive testing acquired by
3
Dr. Gabriel Thomas; and a new Network Analyzer based
source-receiver unit acquired by Dr. Lot Shafai for the
Antenna Laboratory Compact Range.
Behind our success in research and teaching is a dedicated
team of technicians headed by the chief technician Allan
McKay. The technical staff maintains the laboratories
and participates in the curriculum committees. They
also provide support in specialized areas. Dr. John Kaye,
Engineer In Residence (EIR), brought many years of
engineering experience to the Capstone Design projects.
Achievements of our students include the following:
Evan Thompson won both the Program Medal in
Electrical Engineering and the University Gold Medal.
Leigh Woltman won the Program Medal in Computer
Engineering. Jay Ferchoff, Rui-Qiang Liu, and Dennis Lu
Dr. Udaya Annakkage
Professor and Head
4
won the Manitoba Hydro Capstone Design Project Prize
for their project on Wireless Power Line Metering. Kelly
Unrau won the J.H. Schumacher Memorial Prize. Jane Polak
Scowcroft, Christopher Nichols, and Dario Schor won the
IEEE Ted Glass Award for their project on A Command
and Data Handling System for the Win-Cube, their project
was also nominated to the IEEE Telus Innovation Award,
a Canada-wide student competition, in which it was
evaluated as the top technical quality project. IEEE Design
Awards went to Bruce Link and Owen Brady for their
project Delta Sigma Analog to Digital Modulator; Paul
Klassen, and Mark Roy for A Road Quality Measurement
System Using GPS Tchnology; and Everet Anema, and Kevin
Surminski for A Working Theramin.
The ECE webpage has a new look, thanks to the efforts of
Dr. Dean McNeill. In 2008, we started an ECE research
seminar series coordinated by Dr. Jun Cai. Two Professors
Emeriti, E. Bridges, and G. Martens voluntarily taught
two courses. I appreciate their continued service to the
department.
I would like to thank Judy Noble (Administrative Assistant),
Karin Kroeker (Graduate Student Advisor), Freya Sigfusson
(Undergraduate Student Advisor), Joanne Morissette (IIP
Coordinator), Shelly Girardin (Staff Hiring and NSERC
Chair support), and Traci Hofer (NSERC Chair support)
for playing an important role in the functioning of this
Department.
Finally, I am thankful to the Dean, Dr. Doug Ruth, for his
support to the Department.
appliedelectromagnetics
With a country as large as Canada, and a population so
widely separated by vast distances, it is not surprising
that we have placed a heavy emphasis on improving our
communication systems. We have succeeded to such a
degree that Canada now leads the world in many areas of
this field.
Utilizing equipment unique in Canada and a highly capable
staff, this facility conducts research and development at
the frontier of communications technology. The Applied
Electromagnetics Laboratory assists industry by designing
antennas and associated sub-systems, as well as evaluating
their designs and suggesting refinements. Some of the
antennas being evaluated will be utilized in satellites still
years from being put into space.
Best Paper Award
D.K. Firsov, J. LoVetri, I. Jeffrey, V. Okhmatovski, C. Gilmore, and W.
Chamma, “High-Order FVTD on Unstructured Grids using an ObjectOriented Computational Engine,” ACES Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 71-82,
March 2007.
Selected Publications
D.K. Firsov and J. LoVetri, “New stability criterion for unstructured mesh
upwinding FVTD schemes for Maxwell’s equations,” ACES Journal, vol.
23, no. 3, pp. 193–199, September 2008.
P. Mojabi and J. LoVetri, “Preliminary investigation of the NCP parameter-choice method for inverse scattering problems using BIM: 2-D TM
case,” ACES Journal, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 207–214, September 2008.
C. Gilmore and J. LoVetri, “Enhancement of microwave tomography
through the use of electrically conducting enclosures,” Inverse Problems,
vol. 24, no. 3, 035008, 21pp., June 2008.
P. Mojabi and J. LoVetri, “Adapting the normalized cumulative periodogram parameter-choice method to the Tikhonov regularization of 2-D/
Tm electromagnetic inverse scattering using Born iterative method,”
Progress in Electromagnetics Research M, vol. 1, pp. 111–138, 2008.
B. Kordi, G.E. Bridges, J. LoVetri, and J.E. Nordstrom, “Full-wave based
transmission-line model for lossy-substrate multiconductor interconnects,” International Journal of Numerical Modelling: Electronic Networks,
Devices and Fields (Special Issue on Frontiers of Applied Computational
Electromagnetics), vol. 21, no. 1-2, pp. 103–115, January–April 2008.
D.K. Firsov and J. LoVetri, “FVTD—Integral equation hybrid for Maxwell’s equations,” International Journal of Numerical Modelling: Electronic
Networks, Devices and Fields (Special Issue on Frontiers of Applied Computational Electromagnetics), vol. 21, no. 1–2, pp. 29–42, January–April
2008.
I. Hossain, S. Noghanian, L. Shafai and S. Pistorius, “Design and performance investigation of a diamond-shaped compact ultra-wideband antenna for microwave imaging,” Microwave and Optical Technology Letters,
vol. 50, no. 12, pp. 3255–3259, December 2008.
S-S. Oh and L. Shafai, “Investigation into polarization of unloaded and
loaded microstrip square-ring antennas”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas
and Propagation, vol. 56, no. 10, pp. 3129–3135, October 2008.
L. Shafai and Z. Allahgholi Pour, “Displacement of phase centre location
in circular microstrip antennas”, Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, vol. 50, no. 10, pp. 2531–2535, October 2008.
A. Foroozesh, M. Ng Mou Kehn and L. Shafai, “Application of artificial
ground planes in dual-band orthogonally-polarized low-profile high-gain
planar antenna design”, Progress in Electromagnetic Research, PIER 84, pp.
407–436, 2008.
For additional publications see page 14
5
biomedicalengineering
& biophotonics
The merger of biology with engineering sciences and the
creation of biomedical engineering has brought innovation
to the practice of medicine that could only be dreamed
about a decade ago. By many accounts, we are now at
the outset of the Biomedical Century and the need for
engineers trained in biomedicine is greater than ever.
Biomedical Engineering research is interdisciplinary by
nature and therefore involves close collaboration with other
departments and faculties in the University of Manitoba
and associated hospitals. The centre of our activity, however,
is the Biomedical Acoustic and Motor Control Laboratory
and Biophotonics Laboratory within the Electrical and
Computer Engineering department.
The Acoustic and Motor Control Laboratory is equipped
with biological instrumentation amplifiers/filter, different
sensors, acoustic chamber as well as a two degree-offreedom robotic arm, an EEG recording system, and a large
network of computers.
The Biomedical Photonics Laboratory houses optical test and
measurement equipment, various laser sources as well as
advanced setups for high-resolution nonlinear microscopy,
spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography of
biological samples.
Selected Publications:
B.C. Albensi, J. Toupin, K. Oikawa, and D.R. Oliver, “Controlled pulsedelivery of electrical stimulation differentially reduces epileptiform
activity in low Mg2+-free treated hippocampal slices,” Brain Research, vol.
1226, pp. 163-172, 21 August 2008.
A. Betker, Z. Moussavi, and T. Szturm, “Ambulatory center of mass
prediction using body accelerations and center of foot pressure,” IEEE
Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. 55, no. 11, pp. 2491-2498,
November 2008.
A. Betker, T. Szturm, and Z. Moussavi, “Staying in tune” IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 91-98, September–October 2008.
A. Yadollahi and Z. Moussavi, “Respiratory sounds compression,” IEEE
Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 1336-43, April
2008.
A. Betker, Z. Moussavi, and T. Szturm, “Effect of a visual-based sensory
motor task on muscle tuning during a dynamic balance task,” Proceedings
of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, pp. 50775080, August 2008.
A. Yadollahi and Z. Moussavi, “Comparison of flow-sound relationship
for different features of tracheal sound,” Proceedings of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, pp. 805–808, August 2008.
A. Yadollahi and Z. Moussavi, “A model for normal swallowing sounds
generation based on wavelet analysis,” Proceedings of the IEEE Canadian
Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, pp. 827–830, May
2008.
A. Betker, P. Maharjan, C. Yaduvanshi, T. Szturm, and Z. Moussavi,
“Automated quantification and comparison of spatio-temporal gait
parameters during treadmill and over ground walking,” Proceedings of the
IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, pp.
165–168, May 2008.
S. Chang, Y. Mao, C. Flueraru, and S. Sherif, “Optical coherence tomography: Technology and applications,” SPIE: International Conference of
Optical Instrument and Technology, Nov 16–19, 2008.
Y. Mao, S. Chang, C. Flueraru, and S. Sherif, “Novel technologies for
optical coherence tomography”, SPIE: International Conference of Optical
Instrument and Technology, Nov 16–19, 2008.
S. Chang, S. Sherif, L. Mao, and C. Flueraru, “Full-field optical coherence
tomography/microscopy,” Workshop on Microscopic and Low-Coherence
Methods in Biomedical and Non-Biomedical Applications, Saratov Fall
Meeting SFM’08, September 22–25, 2008.
R.G. Pillai, J.H. Zhao, M.S. Freund, and D.J. Thomson “Field-induced
carrier generation in conjugated polymer semiconductors for dynamic,
asymmetric junctions,” vol. 20, no. 1, Advanced Materials, pp. 49–53,
2008.
A. Sharapov, A. Major, and V. Barzda, “Development of a high power
femtosecond optical parametric oscillator for biomedical imaging applications”, SPIE Proceedings: Photonics North, vol. 7099, pp. 70992H170992H7, June 2008.
For additional publications see page 14
6
communicationsystems
& networkresearch
This CSNR Laboratory is dedicated to research and teaching
in the broad area of theory and systems for reliable and
efficient communication of information. Current research
in the laboratory focuses on mobile wireless systems,
communication networks, multimedia communications,
and wireless sensor networks.
The Communication Systems and Networking Research
Laboratory is home to three closely collaborating research
groups. These are
• Communication and Network Engineering;
• Wireless Communications, Networks and Services;
• Coding, Information Theory, and Communications
Signal Processing Group.
Selected Publications:
A.S. Alfa and Q.-M. He, “Algorithmic analysis of the discrete GIX/GY/1
queueing system”, Performance Evaluation, vol. 65, no. 9, pp. 623-640,
August 2008.
A. Abadpour, A.S. Alfa, and A.C.K. Soong, “Closed form solution for
maximizing the sum capacity of reverse link CDMA system with rate
constraints”, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communication, vol. 7, no. 4,
pp. 1179–1183, April 2008.
A. Abadpour, A.S. Alfa, and J.E. Diamond, “Video-on-demand network
design and maintenance using fuzzy optimization”, IEEE Transactions on
Systems, Man and Cybernetics - Part B, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 404-420, April
2008.
J. Cai, A.S. Alfa, P. Ren, X. Shen, and J.W. Mark, “Packet level performance analysis in wireless relaying networks,” IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 5336–5345, December 2008.
S. Saha and A.S. Alfa, “Selecting batch size in discrete-time two-phase
queueing system”, Mathematical and Computer Modelling, vol. 47, no.
11–12, pp. 1246–1253, June 2008.
D. Niyato and E. Hossain, “A game theoretic analysis of service competition and pricing in heterogeneous wireless access networks,” IEEE
Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 5150–5155,
December 2008.
L.B. Le and E. Hossain, “Resource allocation for spectrum underlay in
cognitive wireless networks,” IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 5306–5315, December 2008.
A.A. Alexander, R. Taylor, V. Vairavanathan, Y. Fuo, E. Hossain, and S.
Noghanian, “Solar powered ZigBee-based wireless motion surveillance:
A prototype development and experimental results,” Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, vol. 8, no. 10, pp. 1255–1276, December
2008.
L.B. Le and E. Hossain, “Tandem queue models with applications to QoS
routing in multi-hop wireless networks,” IEEE Transactions on Mobile
Computing, vol. 7, no. 8, pp. 1025–1040 August 2008.
For additional publications see page 14
S. Dharmaraja, V. Jindal, and A.S. Alfa, “Phase-type models for cellular
networks supporting voice, video and data traffic”, Mathematical and
Computer Modelling, vol. 47, no. 11–12, pp.1167–1180, June 2008.
A.S. Alfa and B.H. Margolius, “Two classes of time-inhomogeneous Markov chains: Analysis of the periodic case”, Annals of Operations Research,
vol. 160, no. 1, pp. 121-137, April 2008.
J. Cai, X. Shen, J.W. Mark, and A.S. Alfa, “Semi-distributed user relaying algorithm for amplify-and-forward wireless relay networks”, IEEE
Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 1348–1357,
April 2008.
D. Niyato and E. Hossain, “Competitive pricing in heterogeneous wireless
access networks: Issues and approaches,” IEEE Network, vol. 22, no. 6, pp.
4–11, November–December 2008.
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computationalintelligence
The Computational Intelligence (CI) laboratory engages in
fundamental as well as applied research in computational
intelligence that includes evolutionary methods with self
organization, fuzzy sets, granular computing, near sets,
neural networks rough sets, feature extraction, pattern
recognition, cognitive informatics, compression of data and
signals, including speech, audio, biomedical signals, and
video. computational vision, mobile robotics. In parallel
with ongoing research projects, this Laboratory provides the
community with fully updated information on CI. This web
page provides a partial view of our recent as well as ongoing
research in the form of research reports, dissertations,
recent publications and film clips.
Past and current research on robust real-time algorithms
and software/hardware computing engines for multimedia,
using wavelets, fractals, chaos, emergent computation,
genetic algorithms, rough sets, fuzzy logic, higher-order
statistics, and neural networks. Applications included signal
and data compression, robust blind signal separation with
the independent component analysis (e.g., separation of a
fetal from its maternal ECG mixture), signal enhancement,
classification, segmentation, and feature extraction in
various areas such as real-time speech compression
for multimedia, wideband audio compression, aerial
and space ortho image compression, biomedical signal
processing (e.g., ECG abnormalities, EEG epileptic
conditions, EMG fatigue detection, ocular pulse for stroke,
and dishabituation), severe weather classification from
volumetric radar data, radio and power-line transient
classification, image/video enhancement, and modelling of
complex processes such as dielectric discharges. Current
research focuses on complexity metrics for cognitive
machines and systems.
Past space-related work includes studies of: (i) picosatellite
subsystems (including the WinCube/CubeSat project);
(ii) an uplink and downlink subsystem for microsatellite
communication; (iii) a concatenated interleaved ReedSolomon and convolutional self-orthogonal coding scheme
for a forward error correction system; (iv) autonomous
power management system for a small satellite; (v) CCSDS
packet handling system for small satellites; (vi) lossy and
lossless image compression for small satellite transmission
, and (v) a study and on-board hardware implementation
of wavelet and wavelet-packet compression algorithms
for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) for the Canadian
RADARSAT II satellite, as well as detection of fast-moving
objects from raw-SAR data on RADARSAT III. A new
facility for near-space testing and exploration is being
developed.
Selected Publications
A. Ashtari, G. Thomas, W. Kinsner, and B.C. Flores, “Sufficient condition
for chaotic maps to yield chaotic behavior after FM,” IEEE Transactions
on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 1240–1248, July
2008.
A. Meghdadi and W. Kinsner, “Characterization of healthy and epileptic
brain EEG signals using monofractal and multifractal analysis,” Proceedings of the IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer
Engineering, pp. 1407–14xx, May 2008.
N. Gadhok and W. Kinsner, “Robust independent component analysis for
cognitive informatics,” International Journal of Cognitive Informatics and
Natural Intelligence, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 44–54, October 2008.
C. Henry and J.F. Peters, “Near set image segmentation quality index,”
Proceedings of the Pixels, Objects, Intelligence Conference. August 2008.
W. Kinsner and R. Dansereau, “A relative fractal dimension spectrum
for a perceptual complexity measure,” International Journal of Cognitive
Informatics and Natural Intelligence, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 73–86, January 2008.
M. Potter and W. Kinsner, “Instantaneous heart rate: Should RR-intervals
be resampled?” Proceedings of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, pp. 277–282, August 2008.
W. Kinsner, “Complexity and its measures in cognitive and other complex
systems,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Cognitive
Informatics, pp. 13–29, August 2008.
W. Kinsner and W. Grieder, “Speech segmentation using multifractal
measures and amplification of signal features,” Proceedings of the IEEE
International Conference on Cognitive Informatics, pp. 351–357, August
2008.
L. Woo, W. Kinsner, and K. Ferens, “An analysis of captured industrial
vehicular noise signals for ZigBee communications,” Proceedings of the
IEEE Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, pp.
1423-1428, May 2008.
8
A. Skowron and J.F. Peters, “Rough-granular computing,” Handbook on
Granular Computing, pp. 285–328, Wiley, 2008.
D. Lockery and J.F. Peters, “Adaptive learning by a target tracking system,”
International Journal of Intelligent Computing & Cybernetics, vol. 1, no. 1,
pp. 46-68, 2008. Best journal article award.
A. Jankowski, J.F. Peters, A. Skowron, and J. Stepaniuk, “Optimization in
discovery of compound granules,” Fundamenta Informaticae, vol. 85, no.
1–4, pp. 249–265, 2008.
K.S. Patnaik, J.F. Peters, and S. Anwar, “Influence of temperature on
swarmbots that learn,” Cybernetics and Systems: An International Journal,
vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 502–519, 2008.
L. Han and J.F. Peters, “Rough neural classification of power system signals,” Transactions on Rough Sets VIII, pp. 396–519, 2008.
A.B. Hassanien, A. Abraham, J.F. Peters, and J. Kacprzyk, “Rough sets in
medical imaging: Foundations and Trends,” Computational Intelligence in
Medical Imaging, G. Schaefer, A.E. Hassanien, and J. Jiang, eds., pp.47–
88, CRC Press, 2008.
embedded&real-timecomputing
Access to powerful and inexpensive microprocessors,
microcontrollers and field programmable devices has
resulted in widespread use of these components in even
the most basic of electronic devices. Cellular phones, for
example, have been transformed in recent years from
the simple communications devices of a decade ago into
full featured computing platforms. Our cars not only use
computing technologies to control emissions and monitor
engine performance, but now sport an army of cooperating
microcontrollers and on-board communication networks
to deliver a range of features; from the simple control
of windows and wipers, to sophisticated safety systems,
entertainment components, and navigational aids.
Research being conducted in the area of embedded systems
at the University of Manitoba seeks to similarly capitalize on
the flexibility and sophistication possible when employing
modern processors, communcation protocols, and
information processing to develop new systems to improve
how we look at and interact with the world.
A significant aspect of this work is directed to measurement
and information processing for the monitoring of civil
infrastructure; a practice known as structural health
monitoring (SHM). SHM systems collect and examine
large quantities of measurements from civil infrastructure,
such as bridges and buildings, in order to assess their
performance and improve their safety and usability. The
department is home to a Tier II Canada Research Chair in
Information Processing for Intelligent Infrastructure. The
activities of this Chair are directed towards automating
information collection and processing from civil structures
to imporve the assessement of these systems. This activity
not only assists the owners of the structures to manage
them more effectively, but it also improves their useability
by the public by helping to extend the service life of
existing structures and provide a means to evaluate new
construction methods and materials.
Other embedded and real-time computing research
includes the development of intelligent robotic systems,
the design of computing systems employing stochastic
signal representations for compact embedded imformation
processing (particluarly in field programmable hardware),
and the development and assessment of neural computing
algorithms for use in embedded data processing (including
structural health monitoring).
Selected Publications
G. Rutherford and D. K. McNeill, “Model-free brtidge basedvehcile
classification,” Second International Workshop on Civil Structural Health
Monitoring, Taormina, Italy, 2008.
9
nanosystemsfabricationlaboratory
(NSFL)
The NSFL is an open access cleanroom micromachining lab
established to provide nano-system R&D and prototyping
to university and industry researchers. As a central facility,
the NSFL links multidisciplinary researchers from many
university departments. This 4000 ft. sq. laboratory possess
over $4 million of nanofabrication infrastructure, providing
a comprehensive suite of state of the art equipment and
software for MEMS fabrication, analysis, and testing. The
NSFL infrastructure is continuously being upgraded.
Over the past two years, more than $200,000 in additional
infrastructure has been invested into the NSFL.
The NSFL has assisted many research groups from across
the U of M campus, and several outside industry and
organizations. Over 120 professors and students (ranging
from high school to Ph.D. level) have used the NSFL. This
year the NSFL has supported the research of 59 researchers.
The combined value of grants supporting these projects is
over $4.5 million. The NSFL’s significant impact to U of M
research has been made possible by it being a fully open
access facility. This means any U of M researcher can access
any infrastructure in NSFL after receiving specified training.
The demographics of NSFL users is diversifying. Currently,
the number of NSFL users on an annual basis who are not
from Electrical and Computer Engineering is slightly higher
than those from within the Department. The majority of
out of Department users who use the NSFL heavily are from
Physics & Astronomy, and Chemistry.
Selected Publications:
S. Neethirajan, D.J. Thomson and D. Jayas, “Characterization of the
surface morphology of Durum wheat starch granules using atomic force
microscopy,” Microscopy Research and Techniques, vol. 71, no. 2, pp.
125–132, 2008.
C. Shafai, S. K. Sharma, J. Yip, L. Shafai, and L. Shafai, “Microstrip delay
line phase shifter by actuating integrated ground plane membranes,” IET
Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, vol. 2, pp. 163–170, March 2008.
B. Bahreyni, G. Wijeweera, C. Shafai, and A. Rajapakse, “Analysis and
design of a micromachined electric field sensor”, IEEE/ASME Journal of
Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 17, pp. 31–36, February 2008.
D. Felnhofer, E.P. Gousev, and D.A. Buchanan, “Photocurrent measurements for oxide charge characterization of high‐dielectric metal oxide
semiconductor capacitors,” Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 103, no. 5,
054101, March 2008.
D.E. Schaub and D.R. Oliver, “Rapid simulation of linear PBG microstrip
structures using the Rayleigh multipole method,” IEEE Transactions on
Microwave Theory and Techniques, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 49–55, January 2008.
G.A. Ferrier, A.N. Hladio, D.J. Thomson, G.E. Bridges, M. Hedayatipoor,
S. Olson and M.R. Freeman,” Microfluidic electromanipulation with capacitive detection for the mechanical analysis of cells”, Biomicrofluidics,
vol. 2, no. 4, 044102, November 2008.
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power&energysystems
The University of Manitoba has a strong, internationally
renowned Power and Energy Systems Research Group. The
Group embodies expertise in the areas of power system
transients simulation; power electronics applications
in power systems; power system dynamics and control;
alternate energy; power systems protection; and electric
vehicles.
The Group strongly interacts with industry and includes
several industry partners, such as Manitoba Hydro, The
Manitoba HVDC Research Centre, RTDS Technologies,
Electranix Corporation, Transgrid Solutions and
Teshmont Consultants. This industrial collaboration has
contributed to the development of several advanced tools
used worldwide, such as the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation
program from the Manitoba HVDC Research Centre, and
the world’s first real time digital simulator from RTDS
Technologies Inc.
Since 2004, the Group has also housed the Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
Industrial Research Chair in Power Systems Simulation,
which is collaboratively funded by the federal government
and four industrial partners - Manitoba Hydro, The
Manitoba HVDC Research Centre, RTDS Technologies
and Teshmont Consultants. Professor Ani Gole, who has
made major contributions to the development of PSCAD/
EMTDC, is the current Chairholder.
Selected Publications
L.Y.C. Amarasinghe and U.D. Annakkage, “Determination of network
rental components in a competitive electricity market,” IEEE Transactions
on Power Systems, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 1152–1161, August 2008.
B. Archer, U.D. Annakkage, B. Jayasekara, and P. Wijetunge, “Accurate
prediction of damping in large interconnected power systems with the
aid of regression analysis,” IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, vol. 23,
no. 3, pp. 1170-1178, August 2008.
S. Filizadeh, M. Heidari, A. Mehrizi-Sani, J. Jatskevich, and J. A. Martinez, “Techniques for interfacing electromagnetic transient simulation
programs with general mathematical tools,” IEEE Transactions on Power
Delivery, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 2610–2622, October 2008.
M. Heidari, S. Filizadeh, and A.M. Gole, “Support tools for simulationbased optimal design of power networks with embedded power electronics”, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 1561–1570,
July 2008.
H.K. Al-Hadidi, A.M. Gole, and D.A. Jacobson, “Minimum power operation of cascade inverter-based dynamic voltage restorer,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 889–898, April 2008.
H.K. Al-Hadidi, A.M. Gole, and D.A. Jacobson, “A novel configuration
for a cascade inverter-based dynamic voltage restorer with reduced energy storage requirements,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 23,
no. 2, pp. 881–888, April 2008.
N. Perera, A.D. Rajapakse, and T. Buchholzer, “A novel protection scheme
for distribution networks with DG using fault directions determined
from the transient currents,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol.
23, no. 4, pp. 2347–2355, October 2008.
N. Perera, and A. Rajapakse, “Fast isolation of faults in transmission
systems using current transients,” Electric Power Systems Research, vol. 78,
no. 9, pp. 1568–1578, September 2008.
B. Bahreyni, G. Wijeweera, C. Shafai, and A. Rajapakse, “Analysis and
Design of a Micromachined Electric Field Sensor,” IEEE/ASME Journal of
Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 31–36, February 2008.
11
advancedRFsystems
CMC Microsystems (CMC), the University of Manitoba
and leaders from industry, government and academia
officially opened the Advanced RF Systems Laboratory–
the second of four specialized test labs in Canada’s unique
$23-million National Microelectronics and Photonics
Testing Collaboratory. The estimated value of the RF
Lab located at the University of Manitoba is more than
CAN$1.9 million. It represents a key building block in
Canada’s ‘cyber-infrastructure’, bringing world-class test
capability and expertise from Winnipeg to hundreds of
microsystems researchers across the country.
Researchers at 21 Canadian universities will use this worldfirst virtual laboratory and its interactive, multimedia
connections to access some of the best available test
tools and technologies in the world. Together, the labs
that comprise the Collaboratory will address one of the
main roadblocks facing university researchers: access to
sophisticated and costly equipment required to test and
validate high-performance microsystems; a prerequisite for
moving new, multi-disciplinary discoveries to market more
quickly. Managed by CMC, this pan-Canadian initiative
will ultimately provide companies a competitive edge in the
multi-billion dollar microsystems and photonics sectors.
The future applications of these technologies will benefit all
Canadians.
Collaboratory brings
“The
scientific research into the
21st century…
”
“The Collaboratory brings scientific research into the 21st
century,” says Dr. Brian Barge, President and CEO of CMC
Microsystems. “Regardless of physical location, researchers
will have access to the same advanced capabilities to validate
concepts faster, thereby increasing their R&D output
and narrowing the gap between technology development
and market deployment. Microsystems technologies
enable products and services in all sectors from health
care to aerospace, energy, automotive, environment, and
information and communications.”
“Through the Internet–specifically CA*net 4, a high speed
network managed by CANARIE–remote researchers will
have the same virtual control as if they were actually in the
lab performing the test by hand,” says Dr. Greg Bridges,
Principal Investigator of the Advanced RF Systems Lab,
and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
at the University of Manitoba. “Remote researchers will
not only be able to control the test equipment signals and
collect measurement data, they will also be able to remotely
visualize the chip as seen through a microscope and
position the probes used for testing.”
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signal&imageprocessing
Fundamental and applied research projects have been
conducted in several emerging areas of image analysis,
pattern recognition, and signal processing. Ongoing
research activities concern studies of (i) large scale pattern
recognition problems with constrains on data sparsity
using support vector machines and boosting algorithms,
(ii) statistical aspects of image invariants with applications
to confocal microscopy and robust watermarking systems,
(iii) nonparametric statistical methods for nonlinear
image filtering and edge-preserved reconstruction, (iv)
nonparametric and semiparametric inference for blockoriented nonlinear systems including additive and Wiener
models, (v) signal sampling theorems in the presence of
noise, data sparsity and the lack of band-limitness. Joint
projects with groups in France, Germany, and Poland are
carried out.
is one of the most
“This
comprehensive accounts
of machine learning
algorithms…
”
Selected Publications
Research Monograph
W. Greblicki and M. Pawlak. Nonparametric System Identification,
Cambridge University Press, 2008.
This is one of the most comprehensive
accounts of machine learning algorithms and
general methodologies of nonparametric and
semiparametric modeling for nonlinear systems
that play important role in numerous problems
of engineering, biology, and economics. The book
is the first such a contribution in the fast-growing
field of machine learning that is becoming a key
area for technical advance of computer science and
engineering.
Y. Xin and M.Pawlak, “M-ary phase modulation for digital watermarking,” International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science,
vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 93–104, 2008.
E. Rafajlowicz, M. Pawlak, and A. Steland, “Nonlinear image processing
and filtering: a unified approach based on vertically weighted regression,”
International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, vol.
18, no. 1, pp. 49–61, 2008.
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additionalselectedpublications
appliedelectromagnetics
biomedicalengineering&biophotonics
L. Shafai and Z. Allahgholi Pour, “Displacement of phase centre location
in circular microstrip antennas”, Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, vol. 50, no. 10, pp. 2531-2535, October 2008.
A. Major, R. Cisek, A. Tuer, N. Prent and V. Barzda, “Ultrafast
Yb:KGd(WO4)2 laser for multimodal biomedical imaging with reduced
photodamage”, SPIE Proceedings: Commercial and Biomedical Applications of Ultrafast Lasers VIII, vol. 6881, pp. 688108–1–7, January 2008.
A. Foroozesh and L. Shafai, “Application of combined electric and magnetic conductor ground planes for antenna performance enhancement”,
Canadian Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, vol. 33, no. 2,
pp. 87–98, Spring 2008.
C. Shafai, S.K. Sharma, J. Yip, L. Shafai and L. Shafai, “Microstrip delay
line phase shifter by actuating integrated ground plane membranes”, IET
Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 163–170, March
2008.
N. Prent, C. Green, C. Greenhalgh, R. Cisek, A. Major, B. Stewart and V.
Barzda, “Inter-myofilament dynamics of myocytes revealed by second
harmonic generation microscopy”, Journal of Biomedical Optics, vol. 13,
no. 4, pp. 041318, July–August 2008.
B. Kordi, G.E. Bridges, J. LoVetri, and J.E. Nordstrom, “Full-wave based
transmission-Line model for lossy-substrate multiconductor interconnects,” Wiley International Journal on Numerical Modelling, vol. 21, pp.
103-115, January–April 2008.
communicationsystems
& networkresearch
I.R. Ciric, “Formulation of reduced surface integral equations for the electromagnetic wave scattering from three-dimensional layered
dielectric bodies”, Radio Science, vol. 43, no. 4, RS4S05, 2008. (Invited)
P. Yahampath and A. Hjørungnes, “Symbol error rate analysis of OSTB
Codes and linear precoder design for MIMO correlated keyhole channels,’’ EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, vol.
2008, Article ID 571827, 10 pp., 2008.
I.R. Ciric, F.I. Hantila, and M. Maricaru, “Novel solution to eddy-current
heating of ferromagnetic bodies with nonlinear B-H characteristic dependent on temperature”, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 44, no. 6,
pp. 1190–1193, June 2008.
P. Rondeau and P. Yahampath, “Robust transmission of speech line spectral frequencies over lossy channels using hidden Markov model-based
multiple description index assignments,’’ EURASIP Journal on Audio,
Speech and Music Processing, vol. 2008, Article ID 896021, 13 pp., 2008.
R. Yasaratna and P. Yahampath, “Construction of a scalable decoder for
a wireless sensor network using Bayesian networks,’’ IEEE International
Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, pp. 2721-2724,
March 2008.
J. Cai, A.S. Alfa, P. Ren, X. Shen, and J.W. Mark, “Packet level performance analysis in wireless user-relaying networks”, IEEE Trans. Wireless
Communications, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 5336–5345, December 2008.
L. Lei, C. Lin, J. Cai, and X. Shen, “Flow level performance of opportunistic OFDM-TDMA and OFDMA networks”, IEEE Transations on Wireless
Communications, vol. 7, no. 12, pp. 5461–5472, December 2008.
W. Wang, Z. Guo, X. Shen, C. Cheng, and J. Cai, “Dynamic bandwidth
allocation for QoS provisioning in IEEE 802.16 networks with ARQSA”, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 7, no. 9, pp.
3477–3487, September 2008.
J. Cai, X. Shen, J. W. Mark, and A. S. Alfa, “Semi-distributed user relaying algorithm for amplify-and-forward wireless relay networks,” IEEE
Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 1348–1357,
April 2008.
J. Xu, X. Shen, J.W. Mark, and J. Cai, “Quasi-optimal channel assignment
for real-time video in OFDM wireless systems”, IEEE Transactions on
Wireless Communications, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 1417–1427, April 2008.
J. Cai, K. Liu, X. Shen, J. W. Mark, and T. Todd, “Power allocation and
scheduling for MAC layer design in UWB networks,” IEEE Transactions
on Vehicular Technology, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 1103–1112, March 2008.
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Photo Credits
Allan McKay (5, 11 b., 14, back cover), Dean McNeill (3, 10, 12 t., 15), Julian Beger (front cover), Áron Balogh (6), Mario Alberto Magallanes Trejo
(7), Piotr Dymacz (8 t.), Héja Gábor (8 b.), Ivan Prole (11 t.), James Dietrich (12 b.)
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www.ece.umanitoba.ca
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Manitoba
E2-390 EITC Building
75A Chancellor’s Circle
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6
CANADA
+1 204 474–9603
inquiries@ece.umanitoba.ca
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