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News Release January 22, 2007
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| Boise
State engineering professor Sin Ming Loo, left, and graduate engineering student Arlen Planting display a prototype circuitry system they have developed as part of research conducted at the FAA Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research at Boise State. Planting was named the 2007 FAA Centers of Excellence Outstanding Student of the Year. |
The U.S. Department
of Transportation has named Boise State University graduate student Arlen
Planting as the 2007 Federal Aviation Administration Air Transportation Centers
of Excellence Outstanding Student of the Year. Planting was selected from among
students at more than 60 top universities from across the nation.
Planting, who is pursuing a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Boise
State, received the award in official ceremonies held Jan. 20 in Washington,
D.C. Planting was accompanied to the ceremony by Ambassador Edward W. Stimpson,
former U.S. representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation
Organization. Stimpson and Planting were joined by former U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Norman Mineta, who received a lifetime achievement award.
Planting was also accompanied by
Barry Scott, Acting Director, FAA Office of Aviation Research, and Patricia
Watts, National Program Director for the FAA Air Transportation Centers of
Excellence.
Planting’s research is sponsored through the FAA Center of Excellence for
Airliner Cabin Environment Research by the FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine.
Jack Spengler, a Harvard University professor and the center technical lead,
endorsed Planting’s submission for this award. “Because of Arlen’s maturity and
research acumen, he has emerged as a leader among the research team,” Spengler
said. “His dedication and enthusiasm inspire his fellow students, staff and
faculty alike.”
“This is terrific news for Boise State University, and speaks to the national
caliber of the students and research found here,” said Cheryl Schrader, dean of
the College of Engineering at Boise State. “We offer our heartiest
congratulations to Arlen for receiving this prestigious national recognition.”
Planting was selected for the DOT award for his research contributions as part
of the FAA Centers of Excellence Program. The Center of Excellence for Airliner
Cabin Environment Research is one of two FAA Centers of Excellence at Boise
State, a collaborative long-term research partnership with Harvard University,
Auburn University, the University of California-Berkeley, Purdue University, and
several other universities. The FAA established this Center to study cabin air
quality and conduct assessments of chemical and biological threats in airliners.
Nationwide, more than 60 universities have competed to become members of FAA
Centers of Excellence, including MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Rutgers, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, and many others. Over the past decade, the FAA has
established eight Centers of Excellence to focus on research, education and
training in mission critical areas.
Planting conducts research under the direction of Sin Ming Loo, a Boise State
electrical and computer engineering professor who has received more than
$700,000 in federal grants for his research connected with the center. Boise
State’s part of the project involves the development of sensors and
instrumentation to monitor air quality and detect contaminants.
Planting has played a pivotal role in the integration of hardware and software
design for a wireless sensor network that could be used to detect and measure
contaminants in airliner cabins, Loo said. The system would include flexible
circuitry that allows an interchangeable number and type of sensors to be placed
in the airliner cabins to measure contaminants such as smoke, ozone, bacteria,
noise level and carbon dioxide. Other sensors could also be incorporated in the
flexible circuitry if deemed necessary.
Data collected by the sensors on the amount and types of contaminants present in
the atmosphere could then be transmitted to an onboard base station for
processing and later retrieval. Further phases of the project would involve
refining the network to provide real-time information about contaminants to the
flight crew or a ground station.
Over the past 19 months, Boise State researchers have developed prototypes of a
wireless platform serving multiple sensors. The next phase of the project
involves conducting electromagnetic interference, or EMI, tests aboard a
grounded airliner.
“We have made some excellent progress, thanks to the hard work of Arlen and the
rest of our research team here at Boise State,” Loo said. “We’re now preparing
to conduct a series of tests to determine how well the prototype performs in the
environment for which it was designed — inside an airliner cabin.”
After completing Boise State’s pre-engineering program in the 1970s, Planting
earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Boise State and then took
post-baccalaureate courses in computer science at Oregon State University. He
has worked in various technical positions at Hewlett Packard, H&W Computer
Systems, the Oregon Department of Higher Education, and others for more than a
decade. His love for computer science and engineering and his enthusiasm for
research prompted him to enroll in Boise State’s master’s program in electrical
engineering in 2004.
“Working with Dr. Loo as part of this FAA Center of Excellence has been a great
experience,” Planting said. “I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to conduct
research that has the potential to someday have a positive impact on everyone
who flies aboard commercial airlines. Receiving this national award was a
wonderful surprise, and I feel very honored to receive it.”
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Contact: Sin Ming Loo, College of Engineering,
smloo@boisestate.edu, (208)
426-5679,
Arlen Planting,
clarenceplanting@boisestate.edu, 208) 853-7150 (home) and (208)
426-5639 (BSU lab)
Media Contacts: Janelle Brown, University Communications,
jbrown2@boisestate.edu, (208)
426-1790 and Margaret Scott, College of Engineering,
margaretscott@boisestate.edu,
(208) 426-5789
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12th‑ranked engineering program among public, comprehensive universities.
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Last reviewed on Tuesday, February 27, 2007
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