IEEE Denver Computer, Information Theory & Robotics Society, Computational Intelligence Society, Electromagnetic Compatibility Society, and University of Colorado Boulder – Technical Meeting
February 13, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM (MDT)
Dr Tim Michalka
- PhD Electrical Engineer
- Signal Integrity Expert Engineer
Dr. Tim Michalka received a BS EE degree from the University of Maine in 1982 and MSEE & PhD EE degrees from Stanford University in 1983 and 1988. Dr. Tim Michalka has spent his career working on various aspects of electrical packaging and interconnections with an emphasis on signal and power integrity. Dr Michalka’s industrial career beginning at Digital Equipment Corporation where he worked on electrical design aspects of IC packaging advanced development. Dr. Michalka worked at Carborundum Microelectronics he led the electrical analysis of aluminum nitride-based electronics packaging products. Then at Hewlett Packard he developed power integrity analysis methods for PA-RISC microprocessors and managed the electrical team overseeing package design and signal & power integrity analysis for server microprocessors and ASIC. Lastly Tim worked for Qualcomm where he founded and led Qualcomm’s primary signal and power integrity team which supported the development and production of the Qualcomm SOC chipset product portfolio. Tim retired from full-time work in 2022.
Presentation: Interconnection Scaling – Going Big and Going Small
Abstract: : This presentation will cover a high-level overview of interconnections between integrated circuits – trends over the past several decades and what technologies may support future trends, along with a discussion of basic signal integrity considerations for such interconnections. Over most of the past 50 years the scaling of silicon integration was the winning hand for increased performance with packaging and interconnections scaling at substantial lower rates. Fundamental challenges in nanometer process nodes have effectively ended the steadily increasing benefits of Moore’s Law so new paradigms for 2D, 2.5D, and 3D Heterogeneous Integration packaging technologies are being proposed and developed to keep system performance scaling moving forward. Rapidly moving a lot of data between chips is fundamental to all these approaches. One approach for dense, high bandwidth interconnections will be discussed in some detail to illustrate tradeoffs and discuss the limits of how interconnections between chips can reach the limits of interconnections within chips.
Location: University of Colorado Boulder (Room KOBL 352 – Rustandy Building), University of Colorado Boulder, 80309
Parking: TBD
Invited: Everyone is welcome.
Cost: Free
IEEE Denver Computer, Information Theory & Robotics Society, Computational Intelligence Society, and Colorado School of Mines – Joint Technical Meeting (triple event).
February 14, 2024, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (MDT)
Thong Quoc (Bill) Huynh
- Colorado School of Mines
- PhD Student Robotics Engineering
Bill is in the second year of his PhD in Robotics at the Colorado School of Mines, working in the Dynamic Automata Lab. Bill’s current research focuses on workspace-constrained motion planning and infeasibility proof. He plans to explore more on the topic of multi-agent task and motion planning in the near future, looking into the challenges of robot team decision-making that involve both discrete decisions (actions, ordering, etc.) and continuous decisions (motions).
Presentation: Reduced Dimensionality of State Space: Faster Motion Planning and Infeasibility Proofs.
Abstract: Sampling-based motion planning is often performed in configuration space, making it a computationally expensive task for manipulators with high degrees of freedom. Proving infeasibility in motion planning, an integrated process of motion planning itself, has the same limitation. Many real-world planning tasks come with constraints for the manipulator, e.g., welding in an exact line, or turning a valve only about its axis, and the constraints are typically represented as manifolds in the configuration space. We present a new approach to sampling-based motion planning with workspace constraints in which we construct an explicit workspace manifold based on the constraints and use a parametric state space in sampling with reduced dimension compared to the configuration space. The parameters include manifold coordinates that map to a unique pose and extra parameters as needed for inverse kinematics calculations. Our method works for manipulators with analytical inverse kinematics solutions, and we apply to the specific anthropomorphic 7-DOF (3R-1R-3R) arm in our experiments. With the reduced dimension of the state space in sampling, we can generate motion plans or infeasibility proofs in less time.
Jonathan Diller
- Colorado School of Mines
- PhD Student In Robotics
Jonathan completed a B.S. degree in Computer Science at the Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg in 2020 and an M.S. degree in Computer Science at the Colorado School of Mines in 2022. Jonathan is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Robotics at Mines and works in the Pervasive Computing Systems group under the guidance of Dr. Qi Han. Jonathan’s research focuses on systems-aware planning and tasking for robot teams. Jonathan was recognized as a 2024 Cyber-Physical Systems Rising Star and is heavily involved in his community at Mines, including organizing student-led research seminars, serving on the committee for a research symposium at the university, and acting as a graduate student advocate.
Presentation: Path-Finding for Energy-Sharing Drone-UGV Teams.
Abstract: Drones and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) can be paired together to form symbiotic teams, where drones can quickly move over rough terrain while UGVs can charge and ferry around drones. In this talk, I will introduce two algorithms for planning patrolling paths for drone-UGV teams over indefinite time horizons. These algorithms utilize a second-order cone program that greatly improves performance over classic divide-and-conquer approaches. The results of my numerical simulations and field experiments demonstrate trade-offs in these algorithms and motivate areas of ongoing work.
Dr. Frankie Zhu
- Professor Colorado School of Mines
- PhD Aerospace Engineering at Cornell
Frances Zhu earned her B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University, Ithaca in 2014 and a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at Cornell in 2019. Dr. Zhu was a NASA Space Technology Research Fellow. From 2020 – 2024, she was an assistant research professor with the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawaii, specializing in machine learning, dynamics, systems, and controls engineering. Since 2025, she has been an assistant professor with the Colorado School of Mines within the Department of Mechanical Engineering, affiliated with the Robotics program and Space Resources Program.
Presentation: Autonomous Robots Traversing Space Environments.
Abstract: Exploring extreme terrain is pertinent for extraplanetary surface exploration and search and rescue missions here on Earth. These high-risk operations are best carried out by autonomous robots, minimizing harm to humans. In this talk, I will describe the difficulties associated with robots traversing extreme terrain and propose an autonomy architecture. The robot follows an encoded procedure of objective synthesis, path planning, adaptive dynamics modeling and control policy generation. I will expand upon each of the procedural steps in the robot’s autonomous exploration algorithm and tell this robot’s story in the context of lunar surface mission seeking ice.
Location: Colorado School of Mines Marquez Hall, room 126
Parking: Free street parking along Washington Ave and parts of 16th, 17th, and Arapahoe streets (look for City of Golden signs, parking on campus streets requires a permit). Paid parking is available at 940 18th St, Golden, CO 80401.
Invited: Colorado School of Mines and IEEE CIR & CIS society members.
Cost: Free
IEEE Denver Computer, Information Theory & Robotics Society, Computational Intelligence Society – Technical Meeting
February 19, 2025, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM (MDT)
Mr William Burgoyne
- Mechanical Engineer
- Control Systems Engineer, Lockheed Martin
William Burgoyne holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Control Systems from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After passing the PhD qualifying exam at the University of Illinois, he decided to pursue a professional career and joined United Launch Alliance in 2007 as a Control Systems Engineer. During his 12-year tenure, William developed and maintained vehicle-specific analysis tools and verified system requirements. In 2019, he joined Lockheed Martin to lead a Flight Sciences team before returning to a technical role as a Control Systems Engineer in 2021. William’s expertise lies in control systems design, frequency domain analysis, and vehicle dynamics. Outside of work, he dedicates his time to family, community, and church service.
Presentation: Launch Vehicle Control System Analysis: Bridging the Gap between Academia and Industry
Abstract: This presentation explores the essential skills and knowledge needed by control system engineers in the space launch industry, focusing on the gap between academic theory and practical industry applications. While graduates learn key concepts like linear and nonlinear systems, root-locus methods, and Matlab-based analysis, professionals in the field must go further by mastering Nichols plots, designing control schemes for multiple-input systems, and performing complex analyses in languages like Fortran. This talk aims to prepare future engineers by highlighting these advanced skills, ensuring they are well-equipped to contribute to the evolving demands of the space launch sector. Attendees will learn how to apply their academic foundations to real-world challenges and innovate within the industry.
Location: Colorado School of Mines – Brown Hall W375
Parking: Guests can park in the McNeil Parking garage on Maple St for free any time after 5pm
Invited: Everyone is welcome.
Cost: Free