Lab Updates

Humans of Link Lab: Josie Lamp

Josie Lamp, class of 2023, discovered her passion for computer science in high school when she wanted to program a tutu to change colors with music while she danced. This fostered a passion in engineering that led her to pursue a PhD with the Computer Science department in the University of Virginia School of Engineering and to become a student resident at the Link Lab who works with faculty member Dr. Lu Feng.  

Professor Goodall Will Co-Chair Committee for Virginia Created Through Legislative Action

Engineering Systems and Environment professor Jon Goodall will co-chair and serve as a subject matter expert for a new study committee of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine initiated through Virginia Senate Joint Resolution No. 38, passed during the 2020 session of the Virginia General Assembly. The resolution directs the Joint Commission on Technology and Science to “study the safety, quality of life and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia.”

The Virginia Academy was created in 2013 in the mold of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to serve a similar purpose for the commonwealth — to bring together accomplished and innovative leaders in science, engineering and medicine to carry out studies and provide nonpartisan, objective guidance to decision-makers on the most challenging issues of the day.

Goodall will co-chair the new committee with Antonio Elias, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine, where he serves as secretary and treasurer, and retired executive vice president and chief technical officer of Orbital ATK.

Two Engineering Systems and Environment Students Named 2020 School of Engineering Outstanding Students

Students from the Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, Anna L. Cerf and Emily C. Chen, have won two of the four 2020 School of Engineering Outstanding Student Awards. The award is given to a student or students — typically graduating fourth-years — who have demonstrated outstanding academic performance, leadership and service. It is one of UVA Engineering’s highest student honors.

Lu Feng Received NSF CAREER Award

Assistant Professor Lu Feng received the CAREER Award for her project "CAREER: Formal Methods for Human-Cyber-Physical Systems". 

Researchers Study Effects of Climate Change on Forests With Help From Space

Linnea Saby, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Engineering Systems and Environment and Presidential Fellow at the Data Science Institute, is working on a cutting-edge project to study the effects of climate change on Shenandoah National Park forests. Linnea and her research partner, environmental science Ph.D. student Jake Malcomb, will use massive geospatial data sets collected from the International Space Station through two new NASA programs.

Their work aims to help understand how to manage and conserve forests under changing climate conditions. The researchers told UVA Today they will use conventional and new data science techniques and tools, including artificial neural networks, to analyze the huge amounts of data. Artificial neural networks are a form of artificial intelligence built with algorithms based on the structure of the human brain that can detect patterns and trends in data.

Linnea’s Engineering Systems and Environment advisors are Associate Professor Jonathan Goodall and Ernest H. Ern Professor of Environmental Science Larry Band. She is a research assistant in the Link Lab, UVA’s Engineering’s multidisciplinary center for cyber-physical research.

Video Highlights of the Spring 2019 UVA F1/10 Autonomous Racing Undergraduate Course

Professor Madhur Behl’s course in autonomous racing allows students working in teams to build, drive and race 1/10th-scale autonomous cars, while learning about the principles of perception, planning and control. They learn to use a robot operating system (ROS); integrate various sensors such as an inertial measurement unit (IMU), cameras, and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) on an embedded computer; and implement algorithms for localization, mapping, path planning and control. The course culminates in a F1/10 “battle of algorithms” race among the teams.

See this video for this semester’s highlights. 

For more information about the course, please visit the autonomous racing website.

F1/10 Final Race Practice

Good luck to all students practicing for the F1/10 Final Race that will commence Friday, May 10th in the Link Lab Arena.