{"261461":{"#nid":"261461","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ph.D. Concentration in System Informatics and Control Proves Advantageous for Students and Industry","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn \u003Cstrong\u003ENagi Gebraeel\u2019s\u003C\/strong\u003E lab, success is measured by the ability to anticipate failure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGebraeel, the Chandler Family Associate Professor in ISyE, and his Ph.D. students use sensor data from a turbojet simulation to document the various scenarios that predict engine malfunction or failure. Their work will help extend engine life through improved condition-based maintenance scheduling and may also be a source for future design enhancements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENowadays, virtually every industrial or engineering system new or in design is embedded with dedicated microelectromechanical devices. These high-speed, highly sensitive sensors capture and transmit data in real time about dozens, sometimes hundreds, of key measures\u2014 everything from chemical interactions and energy consumption to product quality and output volume. This information helps engineers fine-tune systems so as to improve efficiency and reliability, and reduce costs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESorting, processing and analyzing the enormous amount of sensor output into useful, actionable data requires engineers with a high degree of expertise in a number of areas. Recognizing the growing need for these specialists, ISyE introduced a Ph.D. specialization in system informatics and control (SIAC) in 2008.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe newest of ISyE\u2019s Ph.D. specializations, SIAC develops research and education programs that provide a scientific base for the design, analysis and control of complex manufacturing and service systems in data-rich environments, according to\u003Cstrong\u003E Jan Shi\u003C\/strong\u003E, the Carolyn J. Stewart Chair and professor in ISyE.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe conventional methods for system modeling and analysis are either physical-driven or data-driven. However, each method has its own limitations for a complex system,\u201d said Shi, who heads the SIAC program. \u201c The SIAC group emphasizes data fusion through developing engineering-driven statistical methods for system modeling and analysis, which\u0026nbsp; leads to much better performance of system monitoring, diagnosis, and control.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGebraeel\u2019s failure-prediction project relies on a jet-engine simulator \u2014 a physical engine would be too expensive \u2014 with 21 sensors streaming data 24\/7.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a big challenge just handling that amount of data,\u201d he said. \u201cWe first had to develop a selection algorithm to determine which of the 21 sensors were the most informative. Not all the information you get from all 21 sensors is necessary. Bad information contaminates good information, so you want to exclude data that causes inaccuracies in the prediction.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENext, the data is fused through a sophisticated algorithm called multivariate functional principle component analysis or MFPCA. This is a data reduction process \u2014 what\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGebraeel calls \u201cdimensionality reduction of the information\u201d \u2014 that does not sacrifice the information content.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe final step is to study and model the fused data such that the remaining lifetime of key engine components that are functioning in the field can be predicted accurately and in real-time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother applied research project, conducted by Shi and his graduate students, concerned a traditional industry: steel. This work, funded by the Department of Energy and conducted in partnership with OG Technologies of Ann Arbor, Mich., involved the use of in-line sensing devices at a U.S.-based steel mill.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe analyzed real-time data from the production line and developed algorithms for the on-line measurement of quality in the product, which is very, very hot \u2014 a thousand degrees or more,\u201d Shi explained. \u201cWe also provided suggestions about how to improve production efficiency.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project substantially reduced the number of defects, thereby lowering energy consumption and environmental costs due to less waste and less product re-work. The steel company client followed up by deploying the quality- control algorithm at its mills elsewhere in the U.S., plus Europe, Japan, and China.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to its research component, the SIAC concentration includes six core courses and a minimum of three courses from related fields such as stochastics and simulation, statistics, and dynamics and control.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKaibo Liu\u003C\/strong\u003E is a recent graduate of the SIAC Ph.D. specialization. In November 2013 he joined the faculty of the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an assistant professor. Liu first learned about the SIAC concentration as an undergraduate at the University of Hong Kong, from two of his professors who happened to be former students of Professor Shi\u2019s.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was very interested in and good at applied statistics,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd as an engineering student, I also had a strong foundation in engineering fundamentals and in-depth domain knowledge. The SIAC program was a perfect match for me, as it requires developing quantitative models to integrate data extraction and engineering knowledge, and employs the models in the analysis and control of complex manufacturing and service systems.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELiu credits the SIAC program with imparting the research skills he needs in his new position. \u201cThis program taught me how to develop novel research ideas, formulate and solve interesting problems, and write-up the results for journals and research papers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother SIAC alumnus is Ran Jin, who was particularly impressed by the SIAC faculty. \u201cI think the SIAC group has the best scholars in this field,\u201d said Jin, an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at Virginia Tech. \u201cAlthough they have very different backgrounds and skills, their areas of expertise are complementary, which makes the courses and research strong.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWritten by: \u003C\/strong\u003EGary Goettling\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis article first appeared in the Fall 2013 ISyE Alumni Magazine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENagi Gebraeel\u003C\/strong\u003E, the Chandler Family Associate Professor in ISyE, and his Ph.D. students use sensor data from a turbojet simulation to document the various scenarios that predict engine malfunction or failure, helping extend engine life and may also be a source for future design enhancements.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2013-12-17 08:43:45","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:33","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-12-17T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"261911":{"id":"261911","type":"image","title":"The systems informatics and control faculty","body":null,"created":"1449243999","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:39","changed":"1475894948","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:08","alt":"The systems informatics and control faculty","file":{"fid":"198413","name":"phd_article_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/phd_article_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/phd_article_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":213678,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/phd_article_0_0.jpg?itok=Oq_hZguk"}}},"media_ids":["261911"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}