July 18, 2016
Programming Gene Expression
Controlling the timing and location of gene expression is desirable for a wide range of applications in biology and medicine. For example, an ideal cancer treatment combines strong therapeutic action in tumor cells with minimal side effects in surrounding healthy tissue. To achieve such specificity, we need to develop molecular control circuitry that can autonomously…
TransPhorm: Improving Access to Multi-Lingual Health Information through Machine Translation
The TransPhorm project is aimed at facilitating the production of multilingual health and safety information materials for individuals with limited English proficiency. We have developed human-computer collaborative translation management systems for public health workflow, domain adaptation methods for machine translation (MT) models and new quantitative frameworks for studying user preferences in MT.
NELT-integrated MEMS for High-accuracy Mass Sensing
In this project, photonic crystal optical tweezers and microfluidic structures are integrated with MEMS resonators. By precisely trapping and positioning the particles on the surface of the MEMS resonators, the mass of the particles can be measured and monitored with high accuracy and repeatability. The technology can be used for living cells and nanoparticles, for…
Quantum Dot Nanophotonics
Thanks to their 3D-confined nanostructures, quantum dots (QDs) have properties that are far superior to the corresponding materials in bulk form, such as high quantum efficiency, size-dependent tunable emission and high sensitivity. We have demonstrated sub-diffraction limit QD waveguides, nanogap QD photodetectors with high sensitivity and spatial resolution, plasmonic-enhanced QD photodetectors with color selectivity and…
Micro-instrumentation by Optical MEMS
We have developed a scanning micro-mirror with an adjustable focal length for endoscope applications. With active focus tracking capability, it allows high-resolution 3D imaging to be achieved with the endoscope system, which can significantly improve the currently limited ability for detecting early and pre-cancers.
Intelligent Compact Optical Sensors (iCOS)
The Internet of Things requires a large number of sensors, which need to be compact and low power while remaining intelligent enough for data processing. Our research is addressing this problem by using nanophotonics, specifically integrated photonics, to achieve an incredibly compact sensor. The challenge with extremely small sensors is achieving high performance. Our research…
Next-Gen Urban Ecosystem & The Emerging Data Market
The next generation urban ecosystem, empowered by internet of things (IoT), has at its core a shared economy where resources are easily aggregated and exchanged. In consequence, a new market place is emerging in which both physical and information-based resources are valuable commodities. Our research is developing learning and optimization schemes that address inefficiencies arising…
Privacy and The Value of Information
Tightly coupled with the operation of large-scale urban infrastructure is a diverse set of socioeconomic factors. A significant amount of data is being collected from these systems. This data, on the one hand, is utilized in improving system performance; on the other hand, it potentially exposes sensitive information. We are quantifying the value of the…
Dynamical Systems and Games
Game theory is a power framework for gaining qualitative insight into the outcome of strategic agents; however, it is difficult to compute equilibria. Using tools from differential geometry, we are developing new methods for characterizing and computing Nash equilibria. By drawing on classical work in dynamical systems theory, we are developing novel equilibrium concepts that…
Learning Decision-Making Models Using Non-traditional Equilibrium Concepts
Game theoretic models often assume complete rationality. However, in practice decisions are often made myopically (bounded rationality). We are developing new equilibrium models of decision-making in a modified game theoretic context using decision-making processes with reduced notions of rationality. With these equilibrium concepts, our research builds on our existing work in the area of utility…
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