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College of Engineering

CAC Secures $1.2 Million from NSF for Advanced Acoustic and Antenna Research

The Center for Advanced Communications has strengthened its relationship with the National Science Foundation, securing two grants totaling approximately $1.2 million to enable new research in acoustic and ultrasound technologies and to support the expansion of capabilities of the Antenna Research Lab.

Through a two-year, $600,000 “Partnerships for Innovation” grant, Villanova’s College of Engineering will collaborate with academic , industry, and government partners to advance research and development in acoustic and ultrasound technologies for the medical and industrial communities. Partners include Bucknell University, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Siemens, The Boeing Company, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Naval Sea Systems Command.

“We are embarking on funded research projects that will directly impact the medical community,” says Moeness Amin, Ph.D., Director of the CAC, and the Principal Investigator of the NSF grant. “We hope to develop solutions to improve diagnostics of anomalies found in human tissues and organs, as well as cracks and fractures in machine structures, by enhancing the ability to detect, localize, and classify abnormalities in ultrasound signals and images.”

This NSF project will also help the CAC enhance its facilities in acoustics and allow for new coursework, enriching students’ education in an important technology job market.

The CAC also received a two-year $568,000 “Major Research Instrumentation” grant to expand the measurement capabilities at the Antenna Research Lab. Ahmad Hoorfar, Ph.D., serves as Principal Investigator. Now, the lab will house research studies and data collections involving extremely high frequencies, to perform tests for antennas on large objects, and extremely low frequencies, for research into wireless communications, GPS, radar imaging, and radio frequency identification.

“These new capabilities will help us attract more research opportunities, which will further distinguish the College of Engineering and provide unique hands-on experiences for students,” says Amin.