AGENDA 1

TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND INDUSTRY 4.0 RESEARCH

Description Technology, Engineering, and Industry 4.0 Research involves
research, development, innovation, and extension programs or
projects that would embrace technological and engineering advances
to improve productivity and maintain an edge in innovation. The
program includes projects or research intended to explore approaches
towards new trends for creating various solutions through
computational systems and services, artificial intelligence, digital,
media and creative content, ubiquitous or pervasive computing,
human-machine interaction, integrated farming system, ICT for
development, web science, smart and green technology, Internet-of-
People, Internet-of-Services, Internet-of-Things (IoT) or Internet-of-
Everything (IoE), communications and information systems, material-
product-equipment-process-human-systems engineering innovation,
automation and instrumentation and control, renewable energy,
green building, simulation, materials engineering, railway and
sustainable traffic engineering, earthquake engineering and
technology, and remote sensing and GIS technology that can make
institutions, organizations and the whole community autonomously
exchange information, trigger actions and control each other
independently.
The program aims to analyze, design, develop and control innovative
Main Goal solutions by integrating various approaches to information
technology, engineering, and other related field.
1. Design and develop systems or devices through the use of sensors
and actuators to immerse and interact with the environment.
2. Enable innovation, invention, creation and deployment of new
models to solve complex computing problems or meeting real-time
requirement of systems.
3. Design and develop algorithms and techniques for massive,
multimodal and heterogeneous data collections for analysis
towards a faster and reliable integration of large data from
structure, unstructured and real-time sources.
4. Find new ways to improve the energy efficiency and power-
efficiency of systems and services.
Specific objectives 5. Design and develop innovative process, human, systems, product,
information and equipment to promote efficiency in all type of
organization.
6. Design and develop material structures, earthquake and traffic
engineering technology.
7. Design and develop automation, instrumentation and control.
8. Develop innovative management systems for agriculture for
production of high value products.
9. Streamline technological research with the national and
international scientific agenda.
10. Build collaborative work through interdisciplinary and
transdisciplinary approaches.
 Target Beneficiaries Areas of Research
1. Data Science (Analytics Machine Learning)
2. Development of AI-based Platforms
3. AI (applications)
4. Renewable energy
Global Needs
5. On-line Teaching Tools
6. Earthquake engineering and technology
7. Smart manufacturing
8. Human-System Integration and Ergonomics
1. Animation and Game Development
2. Green Technology
3. Software Development
4. Internet of Things / Internet of Everything
National Needs
5. Power and Energy systems
6. Automation, instrumentation, and control
7. Design construction integration
8. Material structure and innovation
1. Farming improvement
2. Farming technology
Regional Needs 3. Material and traffic engineering
4. Innovative process, human, systems, product, information and
equipment for manufacturing and services.
1. Innovative process, human, systems, product, information and
equipment for Agriculture
Sectoral Needs 2. Design Construction Integration in Quezon province
3. Technological advancement in manufacturing and services
industry.
1. ICT for smart communities
2. Engineering solutions in households and Small Medium
Community Needs
Enterprise
3. Transport and traffic engineering solutions
1. Library Technological Needs
2. Laboratory Systems Improvement
Institutional Needs 3. Simulation Laboratory Equipment
4. Innovative process, human, systems, product, information and
equipment in the academe

Materials and Structures - The materials and structures group focuses on the development
and the optimization of materials, processes, and devices used for operations in extreme
environments and special applications. Our activities range from optimizing composite
fabrication processes; designing, analysing, fabricating and testing high performance composite
structures for aerospace, automotive, consumer products and sports equipment; devising novel
designs for materials and structures inspired by nature; developing advanced materials and
devices for MEMS used for sensing and energy harvesting; conducting fundamental studies on
the mechanics of nanocomposite thin films and the micromechanics of deformation and fracture
in biological materials; multiscale analysis; the design and optimization of cellular solids and
deployable microstructures; and the process modelling and development of polymer
nanocomposites.

Design Construction Integration - Civil engineering structures provide few, if any,

opportunities for mass production because of the unique production environment. This creates a
special need for innovations in design and construction processes that are peculiar to this
profession.

Innovative Materials - We are developing new construction materials, and re-engineering

current materials, that are cement-based, polymer-based and bio-based. Our research is cross-
disciplinary with collaborations among civil, environmental, chemical and material science
engineers. Current materials research in our department includes the development and
evaluation of fiber-reinforced polymeric materials that are made from renewable resources such
as biobased polymers and natural plant fibers. Advantages of such materials include a reduced
dependence on nonrenewable energy sources for materials production and a reduction of
recalcitrant, non-degrading construction and demolition debris in landfills.

Earthquake Engineering - Our objective in earthquake engineering research is to improve

the state of knowledge, through fundamental and applied research, to help decision-makers
reduce seismic hazards. Decision-makers are defined as all the individuals and agencies
affecting the planning and design/construct process, such as planning or regulatory agencies,
owners, investors and insurers — and the engineers who protect against seismic hazards
through earthquake-resistant design. Earthquake engineering is a multi-phased process that
ranges from the description of earthquake sources, to characterization of site effects and
structural response, and to description of measures of seismic protection. Our current research
includes occurrence modeling, geophysical modeling, ground-motion modeling, stochastic and
nonlinear dynamic analysis, and design and experimentation. Components of these studies
pertain to the individual phases but also, and perhaps more importantly, to aspects that
incorporate some or all of the phases of earthquake engineering.

Engineering and Design of Sustainable Built Systems - Building on these analysis and
assessment tools, further research focuses on the use of quantitative sustainability metrics to
guide design and operation of built systems. These efforts infuse sustainability-focused decision-
making throughout the design process, from material design and selection to structural design
to building-, neighborhood- and system-level planning, accounting for the fact that design
choices at each scale affect overall sustainability performance. Our research includes the
creation of design tools that incorporate numerous models for advanced material performance,
durability and corrosion phenomena, building construction and operation, structural
performance and system behavior with nonlinear optimization models to achieve maximum
sustainability performance.

Performance-Based Engineering - Performance-based engineering is the design, evaluation

and construction of engineered facilities that meet — as economically as possible — the
uncertain future demands of owner-users and nature. The premise is that performance levels
and objectives can be quantified, that performance can be predicted analytically, and that the
cost of improved performance can be evaluated to allow rational trade-offs based on life-cycle
considerations rather than construction costs alone. Performance-based engineering offers great
professional opportunities for producing better facilities faster and more cost effectively. It
forms the foundation for strategies to revitalize of our decaying infrastructure and presents
challenges for the utilization of emerging technologies to monitor the health of existing facilities
through sensor technology and to control performance with active control systems and smart
materials. In the academic environment, performance-based engineering offers great
opportunities for research and teaching of the processes involved in the design and construction
of engineered systems whose performance can be quantified, monitored and controlled in a
manner that responds to the diverse needs and objectives of owners and society. Adoption of
performance-based engineering concepts requires major changes in the thinking, practice and
education of structural engineers. Perhaps most important is a shift away from the dependence
on empirical and experience-based conventions, and toward a design and assessment process
more firmly rooted in a scientifically oriented approach that emphasizes accurate
characterization and prediction of structural behavior.

CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS (INCLUDING COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN) - The research

area of circuits and systems deals with the theory, analysis and design of interconnected devices
and components. Typically the circuits and systems of interest are targeted at signal processing
and communications applications. Due to the complexity of most circuits and systems, computer
methods and algorithms play a key role in the simulation, synthesis, layout, verification and
testing of circuits and systems. Researchers and graduate students have access to current
state-of-the-art circuit design and simulation tools. In addition, graduate students are
encouraged to design, fabricate and test their circuits in commercially available integrated
circuit processes.

COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS - The research area of

Communications and Information Systems (CIS) focuses on challenging, relevant problems in
communications science and information systems. Research sub-areas of CIS professors span all
aspects of communications and information systems from theory to practice, including
information theory, stochastic processes, statistical signal processing, coding and network
codes, multimedia compression, pseudorandom sequences, cryptography, signal and image
processing, digital communications, spread spectrum communications, wireless
communications, wireless/Internet networking, broadband networks, optical networks,
cooperative and cognitive networks, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, space-
time communications, wireless security, and communication security. Many professors in this
area serve or have served as Associated Editors (or Chief Editor) for IEEE Transactions on
Information Theory, Communications, Wireless Communications, and Vehicular
Communications. Of the faculty working in CIS, two are University Research Chairs, and four
are Canada Research Chairs. CIS faculty hold numerous research grants from the federal and
provincial governments, and industrial partners.

POWER AND ENERGY SYSTEMS - The Power and Energy Systems Group is one of the
largest power-research groups in North America. The research group covers a broad expertise
ranging practically all areas in power engineering. The main research sub-areas of
concentration of the group faculty members are- power systems (including economics,
operations, stability, control, dynamics, etc.), power distribution systems, power quality, high
voltage engineering, electrical insulation, applications into biotechnology and nanotechnology,
power electronics, and drives. In recent years, the power group faculty members have been
extensively involved in research on integration of distributed generation resources, particularly
renewable, with the grid, and various issues on smart grids. The research group comprises
faculty members with well-established international reputation. Out of the core faculty
members of the group, most are full professors. The research group members also contribute
actively within the Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) initiative. The research
group has unique research laboratories and computational facilities including a modern
equipped High Voltage Laboratory, a Real-time Simulator facility, a Power Electronics
Laboratory and large-scale computational facilities in power systems. Several outstanding
students have graduated from the research group over the past years, received multiple awards
and scholarships, and are very well placed in the academia and industry. The research group
faculty members receive large research grants and contracts from the NSERC, OCE and the
power industry. Multiple international collaborations and industrial partnerships have been
established by the group members. The research group attracts a large body of graduate
students, in its MEng (Sustainable Energy Certificate) program, the on-line MEng (Electric
Power Engineering) program, and the research based MASc and PhD programs.

System Engineering - the realization of any successful system involves technical and
financial considerations from concept through operation, integrating all disciplines and
specialties into a structured process known as systems engineering. At Drexel, we apply a
systems thinking approach to tackle many issues in today’s complex systems including:
Reliability and risk analysis, Smart city infrastructure, Healthcare systems engineering,
Supply chain systems, Human centered system design and integration, Systems analysis and
optimization.
Railway and sustainable transport engineering - Led by the Institute of Railway
Technology (IRT), researchers at Monash provide a one-stop technology access point for the
international transport and rail industry. The IRT has worked with industry leaders such as
BHP Billiton and Hong Kong and Singapore public transport networks to provide substantial
operational savings and a sustainable transport system with environmental benefits.

Researches within the sustainable transport department have also advised on transportation
issues at the last four Olympic Games. Most recently the Monash team has been called upon
again to assess spectator travel demand and transportation management approaches for the
2012 London Olympic Games.

Other exciting areas include: Track, noise, vehicle, material, bridge, wheel-rail interaction
analysis Optimal design, scheduling and simulation for improving efficiency of transport
sustainable transport networks Mobility management and travel behaviour change, transport
and land use interaction, disabled access and demand response to innovative transport modes
and technologies Road based public transport, environmental impacts, non-motorised transport,
sustainable transport, transport economics and management, and public transport safety

Investment appraisal and evaluation, rural and regional transport, mass transit and transport
planning for special events Sustainable transport, intelligent transport systems, traffic network
modelling and simulation Real-time freeway network traffic surveillance, freeway ramp
metering and speed limit control, urban traffic signal control, dynamic traffic assignment and
real-time route guidance of road networks Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and linked
automatic control methods & communication technologies Automated Highway Systems (AHS)
& Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII)

Human-System Integration and Ergonomics Ergonomics: Workplace analysis, mental

workload evaluation, biomechanics, modeling crash impacts, human reliability modeling, safety
planning, work physiology Human Centered Design: Ergonomic product design and analysis,
design cognition, human and social dynamics in design, problem solving enabling methods
Human-Computer Interaction: Human-computer interface, human in the loop simulation,
evolutionary computation, human decision making, human performance modeling

Production, Supply Chain and Service Engineering - Health Systems Engineering:

Health information technology, patient flow modeling, capacity management, staff scheduling,
quality improvement, data visualization, health informatics, cost-effective modeling

Production and Distribution Systems: Material handling systems, material requirements

planning, facility planning, capacity expansion, adaptive forecasting, multistage sequencing,
lean manufacturing

Service Engineering: Retail engineering, workforce modeling, data mining, demand

management, pricing, employee training, employee retention, resource allocation
Supply Chain Engineering and Logistics: Network design, enterprise integration, supply chain
coordination and collaboration, contracting mechanisms, congestion modeling, transportation
modeling

Remote sensing and GIS for drought vulnerability for farmers - For agriculture to withstand the
adverse effects of climate change and remain productive in spite of unusual weather
phenomena, active adaptation is a practicable option for farmers and government agencies
alike. Other strategies, such as the construction of water retention ponds and developing
climate-adaptable varieties, require heavy funding that, without institutional support, are
beyond the Filipino farmers’ financial capabilities. Also, these strategies take many years to
build and bear fruit. In view of these shortcomings and vulnerability to extreme weather events,
immediate and low-cost adaptation measures are needed for farmers to consider while waiting
for the long-term solutions.