Adaptive Intelligent Materials & Systems Center
The AIMS Center strives to develop a unified theoretical foundation for integrated intelligent systems based on the multidisciplinary research areas of its members. Headed by Dr. Aditi Chattopadhyay, AIMS is one of the seven Signature Research themes of the School of Engineering.
Vision
The vision of the Adaptive Intelligent Materials & Systems (AIMS) Center is to become a national Center of Excellence in the area of intelligent materials and adaptive systems. This is being accomplished by integrating a variety of interdisciplinary areas spanning mechanical, material, electrical and computational engineering, and developing a solid foundation in the area of integrated intelligent system design. Research in this area will solve large-scale problems that have direct benefit to the economy and society as well as a significant impact on aerospace and mechanical systems and civil infrastructures. Such problems are of interest to both industry and government.
Message from the Director
Greetings! It is my great pleasure to introduce the Adaptive Intelligent Materials & Systems (AIMS) Center to you. I am the director and Dr. Lenore Dai is the associate director of this growing center. We would like to join our colleagues in the center in extending our warm welcome to you. It has been many years since the Wright brothers first used the primitive version of ‘wing warping’ to steer their 1903 biplane in powered flight. Research in adaptive structures and material systems has come a long way. However, the realization of a truly integrated adaptive system requires research in smart materials, actuators/sensors, microelectronic devices, nanotechnology, information technology and integrated systems. This can be made possible through the teaming of multidisciplinary researchers, which was the basis for establishing the AIMS Center. We envision that successful research in these areas can help us design better airplanes and automobiles, better control the environment, increase the energy efficiency of devices, hear beyond our frequency range and see what we cannot normally see. The AIMS Center was established in August 2006 with support from the Office of Vice President for Research (OVPR) and the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University. Since then, the center has positioned itself as a prominent resource to the research community, providing a platform for partnerships among individuals and groups spanning academia, government and industry to address problems of national and global significance. The center seamlessly integrates faculty, students and external researchers to create a multidisciplinary environment that fosters the materialization of new ideas and collaboration. The goal is to strengthen this collaborative research effort with industry and government through center memberships, generating resources to become a self-sufficient Center of Excellence in the area of intelligent materials and adaptive systems as the natural next step. The center will focus on developing a unified framework for designing intelligent systems, building on the tremendous advances made in various individual disciplines in the last decade. New computational tools will be built and disseminated, and a new generation of researchers will be trained to solve large-scale problems, with direct benefit to the industry that could lead to significant impact on economy and society. Examples of our current research areas include system health monitoring and damage prognosis, integrated vehicle health management (IVHM), autonomous materials and sensing systems, energy harvesting, bio-inspired sensors and stretchable electronics. These areas have significant impact on aerospace and mechanical systems as well as civil infrastructures. We are very excited about the outlook for our new center. We hope you will take advantage of the opportunities the AIMS Center provides for cutting edge research and technology, and lifelong learning. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Jonathan Fink (Julie A. Wrigley director, Global Institute of Sustainability), Dr. Paul Johnson (executive dean) and Dr. Ed Hall (associate dean of research) for the help in making the AIMS Center a reality.
Aditi Chattopadhyay
Director
AIMS Center
