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Focuses on the reliability and power quality at Champion International Corp. paper mill in Deferiet, New York. Numerous process interruptions experienced by Champion; Voltage sags emanating from the Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. transmission system; Causes and location of faults; Mitigation techniques.

Strict limits of the revised noise ordinance of New York City require power transformers to have ultra-low levels at each of the frequencies of transformer noise at full load and overexcitation. This paper describes the development of the technology that allowed successful design and production of ultra-low-noise power transformers recently delivered to Consolidated Edison of New York City. The paper presents results achieved by this development effort in the areas of accurate calculation of core resonance frequencies, frequency spectrum of core noise, and load noise. It also presents other aspects of the technology development, such as de-coupling of active parts vibrations from the tank, proper design of tank-plate fields and tank bracing, proper transformer mounting techniques, and accurate measurement of low noise levels in the factory. Finally, this paper presents the difference in design of the generations of these transformers produced at different stages of this development effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the grid integration effect of a virtual synchronous generator (VSG), this paper proposes a simple power system modeling method. It is shown that for a specific disturbance, by simplifying the original network to a radical n generators single-load model, its state-space small-signal model can be obtained using a unified formula, as long as the single generator infinite bus model of each generator is given. Case studies based on the IEEE 9-bus test system as well as the New York New England test system show high efficiency of the proposed modeling to represent slow power and frequency deviations. Modal analyses give insight into how system poles are synthesized by individual generator poles, and how different designs of VSGs affect the system oscillation modes. Potential errors due to the topology simplification and the measures to avoid them are discussed. The time-domain results and modal analyses highlight some important features of VSG, which are overlooked in previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstacle-avoiding rectilinear Steiner minimal tree (OARSMT) construction is an essential part of routing. Recently, IC routing and related researches have been extended from Manhattan architecture (λ2-geometry) to Y-/X-architecture (λ3-/λ4-geometry) to improve the chip performance. This paper presents an O(n log n) heuristic, λ-OAT, for obstacle-avoiding Steiner minimal tree construction in the A-geometry plane (λ-OASMT). In this paper, based on obstacle-avoiding constrained Delaunay triangulation, a full connected tree is constructed and then embedded into λ-OASMT by zonal combination. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work addressing the λ-OASMT problem. Compared with most recent works on OARSMT problem, A-OAT obtains up to 30-Kx speedup with quality solution. We have tested randomly generated cases with up to 10 K terminals and 10-K rectilinear obstacles within 4 seconds on a Sun V880 workstation (755-MHz CPU and 4-GB memory). The high efficiency and accuracy of λ-OAT make it extremely practical and useful in the routing phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel approach to damp interarea oscillations by designing a robust multi-input multioutput supplementary controller for multiterminal dc (MTDC) systems embedded in ac grids. The key idea to achieve robustness lies in explicitly modeling the MTDC current injection as disturbances using an \mathcal H\infty mixed-sensitivity formulation in the linear matrix inequality framework. Control directions are established by selecting wide-area feedback signals and the relative gain array computation. Robustness is assessed through dynamic simulations for scenarios including: first, disturbances on the ac side, second, disturbances on the dc-side such as loss of a converter pole including actuator, third, partial loss of feedback signal, and fourth, communication latencies. The performance of the proposed controller is compared against the conventional \mathcal H\infty based design, using a four-terminal dc grid embedded within the New England–New York test system. The results suggest that the proposed approach demonstrates superior performance following dc-side disturbances, actuator outages, and latency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

On August 14, 2003, a cascading outage of transmission and generation facilities in the North American Eastern Interconnection resulted in a blackout of most of New York state as well as parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada. On September 23, 2003, nearly four million customers lost power in eastern Denmark and southern Sweden following a cascading outage that struck Scandinavia. Days later, a cascading outage between Italy and the rest of central Europe left most of Italy in darkness on September 28. These major blackouts are among the worst power system failures in the last few decades. The Power System Stability and Power System Stability Controls Subcommittees of the IEEE PES Power System Dynamic Performance Committee sponsored an all day panel session with experts from around the world. The experts described their recent work on the investigation of grid blackouts. The session offered a unique forum for discussion of possible root causes and necessary steps to reduce the risk of blackouts. This white paper presents the major conclusions drawn from the presentations and ensuing discussions during the all day session, focusing on the root causes of grid blackouts. This paper presents general conclusions drawn by this Committee together with recommendations based on lessons learned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provocative cover of Jeremy Weissman’s debut monograph captures well the new visibility we are all subject to. Reminiscent of the times we live in, is the idea of the “photoborg”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TerraSAR-X, the first civil German synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, was successfully launched on June 15, 2007. After 4.5 days, the first processed image was obtained. The overall quality of the image was outstanding; however, suspicious features could be identified which showed precipitation-related signatures. These rain-cell signatures are thoroughly investigated, and the physical background of the related propagation effects is provided. In addition, rain-cell signatures from former missions like SIR-C/X and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission are provided for comparison. During the commissioning phase of TerraSAR-X, a total of 12000 scenes were investigated for potential propagation effects, and about 100 scenes revealed atmospheric effects to a visible extent. Some of the particularly interesting events were selected and are discussed in greater detail. An interesting case of data acquisition over New York will be presented, which shows typical rain-cell signatures, and the SAR image will be compared with weather-radar data acquired nearly simultaneously (within the same minute). By comparing the images, it can be clearly seen that reflectivities in the weather-radar image of 50 dBZ may cause visible artifacts in SAR images. Furthermore, in this paper, we discuss the influence of the atmosphere (troposphere) on the external calibration of TerraSAR-X. By acquiring simultaneous weather-radar data over the test site and the SAR acquisition, it was possible to flag affected SAR images and to exclude them from the procedure to derive the absolute calibration constant. Thus, it was possible to decrease the 1 σ uncertainty of the absolute calibration factor by 0.15 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that foreign material (FM) in a semiconductor manufacturing process can result in significant unplanned tool down time, reduced product yields, and potential reliability performance issues. This paper will present an overview of the strategy and subsequent results of a multifaceted effort to reduce FM impact during the ramp up of the IBM 300-mm semiconductor manufacturing facility in Hopewell Junction, NY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Albany Cable Project team (BOC, National Grid, Sumitomo Electric, SuperPower) have built and tested a 350-m long HTS cable and cryogenic system rated at 48 MVA (800 Arms, 34.5-kV). The cable system included the world's first demonstration of an HTS cable-to-cable joint (or splice) as well as some novel design aspects in both the cryogenic refrigeration system and the terminations. The cable was installed and began operation in July 2006. This paper will summarize the testing and operational aspects of the HTS cable system and its integration into the existing National Grid 34.5-kV network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A team consisting of SuperPower, Inc. (HTS systems manufacturer), The BOC Group (global industrial gases company), Sumitomo Electric Industries (cable manufacturer), and Niagara Mohawk (electric utility) is developing a 34.5 kV HTS cable for installation in the distribution network in downtown Albany, NY. Energization is projected for the winter of 2005. The cable will be rated for 800 Arms, with all three electrical phases in one cryostat. The 350 m long cable will be pulled through a duct that includes a 90° bend. A field installed underground cable joint will allow for the replacement of a 30 m section of the original first generation HIS cable with a section manufactured utilizing second generation superconductor, in 2006. This paper will summarize the progress made to date and outline future development work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Department of Energy is currently funding the design, development and demonstration of the first Long length, transmission level voltage, cold dielectric, high temperature underground superconductor power cable. The cable is designed for permanent installation in the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) grid and is being designed to carry 574 MVA at a voltage of 138 kV. The project is led by American Superconductor and the team is comprised of Nexans, Air Liquide and LIPA. This paper describes the goals of the project, and an overview of the cable design, frigeration system and site system requirements. It also includes a discussion of the influence of transmission network requirements, such as fault currents, on the design of the cable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1997, the F. W. Olin Foundation of New York established the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Needham, MA, with the mission of creating an engineering school for the 21st century Over the last five years, the college has transformed from an idea to a functioning entity that admitted its first freshman class in fall 2002. This paper describes the broad outlines of the Olin curriculum with some emphasis on the electrical and computer engineering degree. The curriculum incorporates the best practices from many other institutions as well as new ideas and approaches in an attempt to address the future of engineering education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the experience of New York City's Polytechnic University with the development and management of a data warehouse through the support of the National Science Foundation Gateway Coalition. System of organizing institutional data that can support the engineering educational assessment process; Monitoring of students' performance in their undergraduate career and after.

Describes the assessment of online learning modules in engineering design for first year students developed at Columbia University in New York City. Presentation formats and strategies for online engineering design problems; Improved student performance on design problems after module use; Modules incorporating animation and interactive design tools; Web-based curricula.

There are plenty of parking spaces in big cities, but we often find nowhere to park. For example, New York has 1.4 million cars and 4.4 million on-street parking spaces, but it is still not easy to find a parking place near our destination, especially during peak hours. The reason is the lack of prediction of parking behavior. If we could provide parking behavior in advance, we can ease this parking problem that affects human well-being. We observe that parking lots have periodic parking patterns, which is an important factor for parking behavior prediction. Unfortunately, existing work ignores such periodic parking patterns in parking behavior prediction, and thus incurs low accuracy. To solve this problem, we propose PewLSTM, a novel periodic weather-aware LSTM model that successfully predicts the parking behavior based on historical records, weather, environments, weekdays, and events. PewLSTM includes a periodic weather-aware LSTM prediction module and an event prediction module, for predicting parking behaviors in regular days and events. PewLSTM is extremely useful for drivers and parking lot owners to improve customer experience. For example, the probability of parking space that will be available soon can be provided even if the parking lot is full. Based on 910,477 real parking records in 904 days from 13 parking lots, PewLSTM yields 93.84% parking prediction accuracy, which is about 30% higher than the state-of-the-art parking behavior prediction method. Additionally, we have analyzed parking behaviors in events like holidays and COVID-19. PewLSTM can handle parking behavior prediction in events and reaches 90.68 percent accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article profiles Mehmet Ulema, candidate for member-at-large of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) Communications Society (ComSoc). Ulema teaches at Manhattan College in New York and has held technical and management positions in Bellcore, Daewoo, Hazeltine and Bell Labs. He used to be the chair of the Information Infrastructure and Radio Communications Technical Committees. He has also served on various ComSoc committees such as the GITC, Meeting & Conferences Board, and On-Line Content Board. Among his position statements notes that he aims to maximize the value of services to the members of ComSoc.

A novel approach is developed for the retrieval of inherent optical properties of coastal water, from which waterquality constituent concentrations can be obtained. The technique combines an analytical bio-optical model with statistical modeling for the formulation of posterior probability distributions of phytoplankton absorption, backscattering, and colored dissolved organic matter absorption; a Gibbs Sampler is employed for optimization. In contrast to other methods that typically provide point estimates of the unknown parameters, the proposed method estimates posterior distributions of the parameters, quantifying the uncertainty present in the problem and revealing correlation patterns. The method is tested successfully on synthetic reflectance data and real datameasured in situ in the Hudson/Raritan Estuary of New York-New Jersey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the concept of technological education for 21st century "Converging Technology" (CT), a new liberal arts curriculum that emphasizes both technology and literacy. An innovative approach in providing engineering education with focus on liberal arts are being offered at the Union College in Schenectady, New York. The program offers new courses and research opportunities for students in a changing world and growing list of intersectional fields such as bioengineering, digital art, and environmental science. Technological literacy is the main focus of the new program, bringing students in higher education to interact with the technological world.

The article highlights Connected Kids, a community information system project in Troy, New York, that began in a formal sense in 1999. Conceived as both a digital government project and a community information system, Connected Kids helped bridge one city's digital divide by providing new information technologies to youth organizations. In this project, a computer scientist and two social scientists along with students, worked together in a sequential and iterative collaborative process to design and develop a system featuring information about youth activities.

Presents a study which investigated the interactions between humans and robots during the robot-assisted Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) response at the World Trade Center in New York City after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Examination of related work on USAR as a robotic domain, hardware and software development; Discussion of the robot-assisted response in terms of environment and conditions, agents and skills; Results from the post-hoc data analysis.

Reports the integration of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board into a single agency in New York. Accreditation responsibility of the single organization on educational programs; Introduction of computer science on programming; Evaluation of baccalaureate degree programs on computer science.

Describes the features and construction of 13 centimeter corrector magnets for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider being commissioned by the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Number of coils per connector; Alignment of different coils; Field harmonics in all corrector magnets; Quench performance.

Summarizes the structure and execution of the contract between the Brookhaven National Laboratory and Northrop Grumman Corp. for the manufacture of Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) superconducting magnets. Planning for the manufacture of the RHIC magnets; Structure of the industrial production; Contract structure and type; Evaluation of the actual performance.