Bridging Big Data (BBD) 2023 Workshop

Date: Friday, May 26th, 2023, 8:30 AM to 3 PM CT
Location: Nebraska East Union, 1705 Arbor Dr, Lincoln, NE 68503
Room: Great Plains Room C

Sponsor

NSF Award Number:1762034 (Sep 2018 - Aug 2023) Spokes: MEDIUM: MIDWEST: Smart big data pipeline for Aging Rural bridge Transportation Infrastructure (SMARTI)

BBD 2023 Agenda

Theme: Intelligent Infrastructure Health Monitoring at the Edge: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Date

Friday May 26th, 2023, 8:30 A.M. to 3 P.M. Central Time

Agenda

Breakfast and Registration
8:30 - 9:00 a.m. CT (30 mins)

Workshop Kick-off and Speaker Introduction
9:00 - 9:15 a.m. CT (10 mins, 5 mins transition time)
Topic: Welcome Remarks

Keynote 1: Persistent Engineer Intelligence

9:15 - 10:00 a.m. CT (45 mins)

Dr. Mihan H. McKenna Taylor, Army ST for Near Surface Phenomenology for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), a group of 7 Research and Development laboratories for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Army.

Recipient of the 2013 USACE Researcher of the Year award for innovative remote monitoring of structures, Dr. McKenna Taylor specializes in bringing reality to intelligent decision making. She leads multi-disciplinary near-surface phenomenology research to create adaptive, effective, and revolutionary tools and scientific programs to shape future operational environments, including terrain shaping and near-surface persistent surveillance.

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Using geophysics and geotechnical engineering to proactively manipulate and assess the near-surface interface, she executes and fosters research to meet multi-domain threat assessment and maneuver goals, through high-performance computing simulations, analytical analysis, and laboratory and field experimentation, with applications for both civil and military end-users across multiple Department of Defense (DoD), federal, intelligence and academic communities. Dr. McKenna Taylor is the Co-Chair of the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Augmentation Working Group, (AAA WG) and serves as the Basic Research 6.1 Advisor for the ERDC Adaptive Protection, Maneuver, Geospatial, and Natural Sciences Research Portfolio. Dr. McKenna Taylor is the author of numerous journal articles, technical reports, and other publications on a wide variety of geophysical and geotechnical topics. Dr. McKenna Taylor holds a B.S. in Physics with a Chemistry minor from Georgetown University (1999) and a Ph.D. in Geophysics from Southern Methodist University (2005). She is a Certified Professional Geologist (#11410) from The American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG) and a Registered Professional Geologist in the state of Alaska (#661). Dr. McKenna is actively involved in the Military Sensing Symposiums (Battlefield Acoustics, Magnetic, and Seismic/Electromagnetics), as well as the American Geophysical Union and the Acoustical Society of America. Prior to joining ERDC in 2005, and while pursuing her Ph.D, Dr. McKenna Taylor taught Geophysics and Geology at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas (1999-2005), and conducted research in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. She is currently an adjunct professor in the Huffington Department of Geological Sciences at SMU and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Mississippi State University.

Abstract: Engineer Intelligence is engineering information which has been evaluated as to its accuracy and reliability and accepted as fact, related to specific activities, and used to plan operations or construction activities. Though generally understood to be discrete analyses tied to a specific time and place, in reality, the status of the physical environment is under constant flux to due to human activity and the effects of weather and other natural disasters. This constant flow of changes drives the requirement for engineer intelligence to be continually updated and reassessed and necessitates rephrasing this concept to Persistent Engineer Intelligence. As such, Engineer Intelligence Systems become the combination of environmental data sets, analyzed information, assessments, planning tools, and programs, all of which is used to support the breadth of engineer operations. Many activities in the civilian realm have equivalents to military tasks and the era of real-time data from smart infrastructure positions the civilian infrastructure owner at the forefront of implementation of persistent engineer intelligence for civilian infrastructure systems. This presentation will explain the history of the Army Engineer, the concept of Persistent Engineer Intelligence, analogues between civilian and military roles, and the critical role that Big Data will play in all future engineer tasks.

Break

10:00 – 10:15 a.m. CT (15 mins)

Panel 1: Intelligent Infrastructure Health Monitoring: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

10:15 - 11:30 a.m. CT (75 mins)

Panelists

Danielle Whitlow, PhD, PE, Research Civil Engineer, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

Dr. Whitlow is a recognized expert in the international community in non-traditional bridge assessment techniques.

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She leverages emergent assessment techniques from other disciplines and brings them to bear on the problem of remote structural assessments, including persistent geophysical monitoring and exploitation of satellite or other overhead imagery in conjunction with knowledge of non-U.S. construction and maintenance practices. Her novel and unconventional approach has resulted in new tools and techniques that enhance Warfighter safety, while advancing the state- of-the-art in bridge assessment as applied to both military and civil infrastructure challenges. Dr. Whitlow leads multi-disciplinary teams of scientists and engineers with backgrounds in structural engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, acoustics, signal propagation, and meteorology focused on solving engineering problems and providing bridge assessment and monitoring solutions to both the military and civilian sectors. Her published research spans the breadth of bridge assessment from traditional large-scale structural testing to non-traditional use of emergent technologies for real-time persistent health monitoring. Dr. Whitlow is an active member of the NATO Team of Experts on Military Bridge Assessment under the NATO Military Engineering Working Group. She is also a Professional Engineer in the State of Mississippi and a member of the Society of American Military Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Jose Julio Cabeza Gonzalez, Professor, University of Agder, Norway

Currently leading the innovation project Systemic Pandemic Risk Management, funded by the Research Council of Norway with participation from Stepchange AS; Kristiansand municipality; the Hospital of Southern Norway; the Centre for Integrated Emergency Management (CIEM), University of Agder; the Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health (Italy); and the Center for Disaster Medicine and Traumatology (Sweden)

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Diplom-Physik, 1970, University of Kiel, Germany Dr.rer.nat. (PhD in Natural Sciences), 1970, University of Kiel, Germany Dr.techn. (PhD in Technology), 1978, NTH (Norwegian Institute of Technology), now NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Active since 1971 in academia, since 1999 professor at the University of Agder and since 2005 adjunct professor in Gjøvik, now part of NTNU. Professor emeritus since 1st March 2019 Executive Research Advisor for the company Stepchange AS, Kristiansand, Norway Awarded the Research Prize from the Agder Academy of Science and Letters in 2012 Awarded the King's Medal of Merit for my contributions to societal security in 2019 I gave a talk at TEDs Arendal 2021 with the title "Can technology help against technology?". The talk concerns humankind’s Grand Challenges, major pandemics being among them, and methods that must be developed to deal with systemic complexity. Link to the talk: https://youtu.be/aIqqj5VcCXM

Russell Rohlfs, Vice President Engineering Union Pacific

Russell Rohlfs is the Vice President of Union Pacific’s Engineering Department. In his role, Rohlfs is responsible for leading the design, construction and maintenance of all tracks, structures, and signal systems across UP’s 35k+ mile network. Prior to his current position, Russell led UP’s Northern Region Engineering Team, overseeing track maintenance and renewal across 22k track miles.

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Russell started his railroad career with Union Pacific in 2002, holding a number of Engineering positions systemwide. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a bachelor of science in Marketing. Russell and his wife, Maureen, reside in Omaha with their two young children.

Tom Kirkland, Smart Infrastructure Solutions Architect, Valmont Industries

Tom supports smart infrastructure initiatives providing design and advisory services, incorporating a global professional network of industry experts in technology, urban planning, and public private partnerships.

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> Tom Kirkland is a smart and connected systems enthusiast with over 30 years of experience. Trained as an electrical engineer experienced in telecommunications, utilities, and smart infrastructure technology solutions. Tom has worked as founder and manager of ELAN Technologies, a Systems Engineer and Project Manager at Jacobs Engineering, a Smart City Expert Consultant at IFC-World Bank Group, and currently a Smart Infrastructure Solutions Architect at Valmont Industries.

Arun Kesavan, Director of Product Management, Lindsay Corporation

Arun has around three decades of progressive experience in engineering, product management and digital transformation with P&L responsibility across industrial, heavy construction and mining OEM business segments. He is currently at Lindsay Corporation as the Director of Product Management, Infrastructure & Connected Solutions, responsible for development and management of infrastructure products, industrial IoT technology and connected solutions.

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He was previously the Director of Smart Products for ESCO (now WEIR ESCO) for five years and before that the Global Director for Controls & Automation, Underground Mining Division for Joy Global (now Komatsu). He also spent 15+ years at Caterpillar in various roles (Design Engineer to New Product Development Manager) across 5 different divisions, 4 locations and multiple systems & machine platforms. Education: Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering – Univ. of Madras; Masters in Mechanical Engineering – Univ. of Utah; MBA – Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Lunch Break

11:30 - 12:45 p.m CT (75 mins)

Emerging Solutions: Lightning Talks, Posters and Demonstrations

12:00 to 1:15 p.m. CT (75 mins)

• Final Lightning Talk/Poster Slides

Break

1:15 – 1:30 p.m. CT (15 mins)

Panel 2: Autonomy at the Edge: Needs and Emerging Solutions

1:30 - 2:45 p.m CT (75 mins)

Panelists

Carrick Detweiler, Susan J. Rosowski Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Computer Science and Engineering

Dr. Carrick Detweiler is the Susan J. Rosowski Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He co-directs and co-founded the Nebraska Intelligent MoBile Unmanned Systems (NIMBUS) Lab at UNL and also co-founded the company Drone Amplified, which sells drone-based fire ignition systems that are used for land management and backburns on wildfires. His research focuses on improving the robustness and safety of aerial robots and sensor systems operating in the wild.

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Carrick obtained his B.A. in 2004 from Middlebury College and his Ph.D. in 2010 from MIT CSAIL. He is a Faculty Fellow at the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute and at the Public Policy Center at UNL and is a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors. He is currently leading NSF, USDA, and DoD projects focused on developing the systems and software to enable interactions of UAVs with water, fire, and crops.

David Schweitzer, Research Mathematician, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

Dr. David Schweitzer is a research mathematician at ERDC-ITL and the lead of the Cybersecurity Engineering Analysis Branch’s Research & Development Team. His research focuses on improving cybersecurity and resiliency for operational technology and infrastructure networks, predominantly in virtualization and analytics based efforts.

James Burke, Business Development Director, Kinnami Software Corporation

Jim is the Director of Business Development for Kinnami Software Corporation, a startup company focused on providing security, protection and availability for data in complex distributed environments.

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> He joined the company in early 2019 to help bring Kinnami’s technology to market. Kinnami is currently engaged in multiple projects with the DoD addressing data management and autonomy problems encountered at the computing edge. > Jim is passionate about growing companies and building solutions that address complex problems empowering customers to meet their technology challenges. A technology startup veteran, prior to Kinnami Jim worked with Ecodesk, a UK-based sustainable business platform, providing supplier data collection and analysis to reduce enterprise impacts around water, waste, and carbon emissions for companies in the pharmaceutical, consumer staples and retail industries. Jim holds a BS in Business Management, with a minor in Economics from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. **About Kinnami** > Kinnami provides a resilient data fabric simplifying data availability, protection, and security for complex distributed networks essential to making our connected future possible and an autonomous future a reality. Our easy-to-manage enterprise-class software enables a unified data environment for trust, transparency and newfound collaboration—from Edge devices to Cloud. Customers achieve the irrefutable data integrity essential to distributed environments—including unsecured or free-standing networks and autonomous operations. > Kinnami was founded in 2015 by a team of data management and security experts, and has offices in Boston, Washington, and Austin, TX.

Greg Martin, General Director – Train Operating Services, Transportation Systems Development Union Pacific

Gregory Martin is General Director at Union Pacific Railroad in the Train Operations organization of the Technology department. Greg works with Operations to implement locomotive onboard, wayside, communication infrastructure, and the Backoffice systems for “Positive Train Control (PTC)”, per Federal Regulation, that allows for the safe operations of the interoperable rail industry in North America on Union Pacific.

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Additionally, Greg has partnered with Operations to implement Backoffice Energy Management systems to reduce Fuel consumption. Greg has also partnered with Operations to build automated process control systems that enable rail yard operations to maximize productivity and safety. Lastly, Greg partners with Operations to support a portfolio of Safety Management Systems for Union Pacific Railroad. Within these Domains of work, Greg has lead the creation of health and monitoring systems, predictive maintenance, and machine learning models to improve and support these operational systems. Prior to his career with Union Pacific Railroad, Greg has worked for various software consulting companies and Honeywell Defense Avionics where he designed Application Specific Integrated Circuits for military aircraft. Greg is a proud alumni of Iowa State University, with a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering, is married to Michelle Martin and has 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren. He enjoys his family and traveling. Greg also enjoys most athletic activates, especially golf.

Closing Remarks

2:45 - 3:00 p.m CT (10 mins)