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Office: Room 219 Intelligent Control Systems Laboratory (ICSL) Manufacturing Research Center (MaRC) Georgia Institute of Technology (GaTech) 813 Ferst Drive, N.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0560 U.S.A. Telephone: +1(404) 894-4132 |
Derek L. Edwards graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2006 with a B.S. in Computer Engineering. In spring 2008 he began his graduate studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is currently pursing a Ph.D. of Electrical and Computer Engineering with a focus in systems and controls. Also in spring 2008 he began research work at the Intelligent Control Systems Laboratory. His research interests include intelligent control and fault diagnosis and failure prognosis for engineering systems.
Prior to joining Georgia Tech in 2008, he was employed at H.I. Solutions, Inc. as a project engineer designing embedded devices for building automation and control systems.
Projects
Bell Helicopter Spline Monitoring: The ICSL team is working with Bell Helicopter to monitor the wear and effects of whirling on the spline of helicopter rotor sytems. CBM and PHM technologies will be applied to identify and isolate the occurrence of a fault, as well as provide prognosis information regarding the remaining useful life of the component. Detection and prognosis of spline faults will not only improve system performance but will also prevent the catastrophic failure of the rotor system and aircraft.
Cell Processor: A joint project between ICSL and Avetec, CBM and PHM algorithms are put to use on the highly parallelized Cell Broadband Engine developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM. Through extensive parallelization, these algorithms will operate in real-time allowing their implementation on-board critical aircraft CBM/PHM systems as well as a variety of other platforms.
Activities
Progressive Transit: Derek Edwards is developing a transit-on-demand system known as FlexBus to provide clean, efficient, safe, and affordable transportation options where current mass transit systems fail to reach these objectives. Information can be found at www.ProgressiveTransit.com.
Kell Robotics Team: Since 2006 Derek has provided technical mentorship for the Kell High School Robotics Team. Kell Robotics operates within FIRST Robotics, an organization dedicated to making science, math, and engineering exciting and relevant to students from elementary school to high school.
EcoCAR Challenge: The EcoCAR Challenge is a three-year competition that builds on the 19-year history of DOE advanced vehicle technology competitions by giving engineering students the chance to design and build advanced vehicles that demonstrate leading-edge automotive technologies, with the goal of minimizing the environmental impact of personal transportation and illustrating pathways to a sustainable transportation future. DOE has again joined General Motors (GM), Natural Resources Canada, and other sponsors for this new competition series, named the EcoCAR Challenge. Argonne National Laboratory, a DOE research and development facility, will organize and operate the EcoCAR Challenge.