Research and Grant
Activity - Howard Canistraro
Return to CoverResearch and Grant
Activity - Howard Canistraro
Return to CoverWard College and I were involved in a National Science
Foundation (NSF) Grant On Institution Wide Reform of freshmen courses in
science, math and technology at the University of Hartford ($200,000).
This effort resulted in a complete revision of the course "Introduction
to Engineering Technology", ET 111, which all Ward freshmen must take.
The course was aimed at exposing the students to practical aspects of succeeding
at the college and the University. A detailed result on this effort
can be found in a conference paper that was
recently accepted for the 1999 ASEE annual meeting.
NSF Grant on Laboratory Improvement for the MET Program:
I recieved an award for $35,000 to purchase a computer based data acquisition system. This represents the state of the art in current methods of measuring and controlling all kinds of electrical and mechanical signals. The program LabVIEW will be incorporated into all laboratory sections of the MET courses and used to measure temperatures, pressures, velocities and voltages. It will also be used for controlling automated processes.
The system is being used this Spring in MET 241, the materials science laboratory class. Look for it in more classes this summer and next fall!
Thermal Barrier Coating Analysis:
In conjunction with the University of Connecticut at Storrs, I routinely conduct mechanical tests on the strength of ceramic coatings which are used to insulate tubine blades in jet turbines. Several papers will be coming soon on an extensive research program in collaboration with Pratt and Whitney Aircraft of East Hartford, and Professor Eric Jordan of UConn.
New Method of Mammography
I am also involved with the development of a new mammography
system which uses the x-ray scanning device that I developed for my Ph.D.
thesis. The following is a general overiview of the technique and
its' importance:
In Connecticut there are currently over 60,000 mammograms performed each year, with 1800 resulting in a diagnosis of cancer. The breast cancer death rate is currently about 600 per year in the state. Studies have shown that early detection can greatly increase the chance of survival, so the mammogram is an essential tool in saving women’s lives. The researchers are currently developing a new method of mammography that will permit smaller tumors to be found, before they have a chance to spread. The new method is similar to conventional x-ray mammography, but here the x-rays are focussed into a narrow, intense line image that contains only one energy of radiation. This is important since tumors and healthy tissue look very similar under conventional x-ray exposure, where a broad range of x-ray energies are used. The researchers can select energies where the contrast between healthy and cancerous tissue is the greatest. This makes the tumors stand out more clearly in radiographic pictures, allowing doctors to find them earlier. The researchers hold a patent on the basic procedure, and more are likely to follow as the program develops. The method has already been demonstrated in limited laboratory testing, and some radiographs have been taken that indicate its promise. It is likely that clinical testing will be initiated during the last year of the requested funding period, with introduction on a wider scale shortly afterward (several radiographic imaging corporations in Connecticut have expressed an interest in the technique; LORAD, Siemens). The program stands to produce a technique that could benefit women on a world wide scale. A schematic of the system is shown below: