Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 21 February 22, 1996 - Smart Materials Center offers summer research internships

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Smart Materials Center offers summer research internships

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 21 - February 22, 1996

The U.S. Army Research Office (ARO) and Virginia Tech's Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures (CIMSS) are offering challenging opportunities to undergraduate students for interdisciplinary research training in the area of smart materials, structures, and mathematical issues.

The objectives of the ARO/CIMSS Summer Research Internships for Undergraduates Program are to encourage undergraduate students to pursue a graduate degree in engineering, to expose students to the research environment, and to foster growth in research-related skills. Students involved in the program will work alongside and contribute to the efforts of graduate students and faculty members. Research opportunities will include the entire range of disciplines from applied mathematics to material science to solid mechanics and structural control.

Selected students will receive up to a $4,000 fellowship, and $1,000 for materials, supplies, and travel to support the research. Each student will write a proposal for the specific research project to be undertaken, including a statement of deliverables due at the end of the project (written report, experimental apparatus, etc.). Appointments are for the three-month period from May 20 to Aug. 9, 1996.

The ARO/CIMSS summer research interns will conduct research at Virginia Tech under the supervision of one or more faculty members. The specific research project will be chosen by the principal investigators to address a specific issue relevant to the ARO-URI program.

The focus of the ARO University Research Initiative Program at Virginia Tech is to develop techniques for monitoring the soundness of structures-to detect the beginning and growth of damage or failure in a structure. This allows for safer and more efficient use of structures. Some of the specific research projects associated with this concept are dynamic modeling of induced strain actuators (ISA); design of ISA for shape, vibration, and damage control; health monitoring of structures using material tagging concepts; damage alleviation using hybrid composite-material systems; development of sensors for damage identification and control systems; full-field damage evaluation in composite materials; development of hybrid control algorithms; and use of artificial intelligence and neural networks in damage detection and control systems.

The funded undergraduate internships are intended for students in the summer following their junior year at an accredited college or university, although students at all academic levels will be considered. The students will be selected based on an application and vitae review and a possible interview by a project's principal investigators. U.S. citizenship or proof of eligibility to work in the United States is required. Women and minority members are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted through March 15.

For more information or an application, please contact: Craig A. Rogers, director, Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Virginia Tech, 840 University City Boulevard, Suite 5, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0261, or call 1-2900.