ODU's Julie Hao Receives Two NSF Grants for Research

Julie (Zhili) Hao, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in Old Dominion University's Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, has received two six-figure grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue her groundbreaking work with MicroElectricalMechanical Systems (MEMS) resonators.

Last fall, Hao was awarded a, three-year, $342,762 grant by the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) division at NSF for research into the design of high-performance, robust MEMS resonators.

And this month, Hao received a two-year, $149,455 grant from NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) for an education project involving the behavior of MEMS devices.

"I have been working on this topic for a long time," said Hao, who has been at ODU for three years. "Finally, this grant came in. I'm grateful because NSF recognized my research as significant and important to the field."

In fact, Hao's grant proposal was what's known as unsolicited. NSF often asks for research proposals on particular topics, but the federal agency also has a category of grant proposals - far tougher to achieve - where NSF believes the research is worthy of support, despite not specifically asking for the pitch.

MEMS resonators are of particular interest to research agencies because of their many applications in society. Resonators are used in real-time referencing, meaning they can perform a certain command at a precise time interval.

They are also used in signal selection, such as choosing a radio frequency traveling through the air.

Finally, they are used to detect and calculate motion on a three-dimensional axis, making them necessary components of devices from vehicle airbags to Nintendo WII controllers.

The CMMI grant was earned in collaboration with Gene Hou, a mechanical engineering professor at ODU, and Darrin Young, a professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at Case Western Reserve University.