News/Awards

DSSL presents five technical papers at the 2017 SPIE Smart Structures & Nondestructive Evaluation conference held March 26-29, 2017 in Portland, OR. Both Dr. Anton and Mohsen Safaei were in attendance.

• Safaei, M. and Anton, S. R., Analytical and Finite Element Performance Evaluation of Embedded Piezoelectric Sensors in Polyethylene, Proc. SPIE, 2017, (12 pp.).
• Hoummadi, E., Safaei, M., and Anton, S. R., Design, Analysis, and Fabrication of a Piezoelectric Force Plate, Proc. SPIE, 2017, (11 pp.).
• Tefft, E. C., and Anton, S. R., A Multiple Degree of Freedom Model of Piezoelectret Foam in an Updated Multilayer Stack Configuration, Proc. SPIE, 2017, (13 pp.).
• Scheyer, A. G. and Anton, S. R., Impedance Based Structural Health Monitoring of Additive Manufactured Structures with Embedded Piezoelectric Wafers, Proc. SPIE, 2017, (10 pp.).
• Poissenot-Arrigoni, B., Scheyer, A. G., and Anton, S. R., Determination of Orthotropic Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Parts for Structural Health Monitoring, Proc. SPIE, 2017, (9 pp.).

Dr. Anton has been named as the inaugural recipient of the College of Engineering Rising Renaissance Engineer Faculty Scholar Award. The award, which recognizes tenure-track faculty who are making outstanding accomplishments as documented in their scholarship activities, was presented at the 2017 Engineer’s Week Banquet hosted by the Tennessee Tech College of Engineering on February 23, 2017.

DSSL undergraduate researcher Robert Ponder was awarded the Rising Renaissance Engineer Spectrum Award for Mechanical Engineering at the 2017 Engineer’s Week banquet on February 23, 2017. The Rising Renaissance Engineer Spectrum Award recognizes a diverse body of students across all the degree-granting departments in the College of Engineering for their initiatives and achievements in educational, research, and professional development activities. Congratulations Rob!

DSSL presents one technical paper at the 2017 SEM IMAC conference held January 30 – February 2, 2017 in Garden Grove, CA. Both Dr. Anton and Ryan Kettle were in attendance.

• Kettle, R. A., Dodson, J. C., and Anton, S. R., High Frequency Impedance Measurements for Microsecond State Detection, Proc. SEM IMAC, 2017, (9 pp.)

DSSL welcomes undergraduate URECA! (Undergraduate REsearch and Creative Activity) grant winner Robert Ponder to the lab.  The title of Robert’s research project is “Modeling and Prototyping of Artificial Knee Joint for Embedded Piezoelectric Transducers.”

Dr. Anton has received the Distinguished Researcher award from the Tennessee Tech Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The award was presented by Mr. Josh Watkins (right), president of the Tennessee Tech Student Chapter of ASME at the annual Mechanical Engineering department holiday luncheon.

DSSL presents one technical paper and one technical presentation at the 2016 ASME Smart Materials Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems conference held September 28-30, 2016 in Stowe, VT. Both Dr. Anton and Mohsen Safaei were in attendance.

• Safaei, M. and Anton, S. R., Sensing and Energy Harvesting Performance, and Fatigue Life of Embedded Piezoelectric Transducer in Total Knee Arthroplasty, Proc. ASME SMASIS, 2016, SMASIS2016-9216 (11 pp.)
• Kettle, R. A., Dodson, J. C., and Anton, S. R., Experimental Feasibility Study of Microsecond State Detection using Electromechanical Impedance, ASME SMASIS Conference, Stowe, VT, September 30, 2016, SMASIS2016-9206

DSSL MS student Ryan Kettle has been awarded the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Space and Missile Defense Working Group (SMDWG) Graduate Fellowship Award from the Tennessee Valley chapter of NDIA. Congratulations Ryan on this exciting award!

DSSL welcomes graduate student, Ekramul Ehite.  Ehite graduated from Michigan Technological University with a MS in Mechanical Engineering in May, 2016 and previously earned his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in Oct, 2014.  Welcome Ehite!

Dr. Anton has received an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his work entitled “Self-Powered In Vivo Force and Implant Wear Sensing in Knee Arthroplasty.” The grant has been awarded through the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).

This work, which will be supported for three years, will focus on developing implantable, self-powered piezoelectric sensors in total knee replacement implants to record force and wear data in a non-intrusive manner, allowing in vivo feedback to be used by surgeons, physical therapists, and implant manufactures to develop better surgical procedures and better implant designs in order to improve surgical outcomes and ultimately public health.

Through this grant, Dr. Anton and his team at TTU will collaborate with R. Michael Meneghini, MD, Director of Joint Replacement at IU Health Saxony Hospital and Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Additionally, two TTU undergraduate students will have the opportunity to conduct hands on biomedical research each summer in Dr. Meneghini’s clinic.