Spring 2015 MnDRIVE Seminar Series
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Jordan Berg,
Program Director,
National Science Foundation
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Abstract
In February of 2014, three NSF/ENG/CMMI programs in dynamics, control, and sensor systems were merged into a single program, now called Dynamics, Control, and Systems Diagnostics (DCSD). Many aspects of the three precursor programs have been maintained in the new program, but there have also been significant changes. This talk will describe the objectives of the new program, and provide a brief review of its first year of existence. The talk will also briefly discuss other programs at NSF likely to be of interest to investigators submitting to DCSD or its predecessors.
Biosketch
Jordan M. Berg received BSE and MSE degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University in 1981 and 1984, respectively. He worked in the satellite Attitude Control Analysis group at RCA Astro-Electronics in East Windsor, NJ, from 1983 to 1986. He received a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, and an MS in Mathematics and Computer Science from Drexel University in 1992. He held postdoctoral appointments at the USAF Wright Laboratory in Dayton, OH, and the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications in Minneapolis, MN. Since 1996 he has been at Texas Tech University, where he is currently Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Co-Director of the Nano Tech Center. He is a Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and a Fellow of ASME. His current research interests include nonlinear and geometric control, and applications of dynamics and control to nano and micro systems, functional materials, autonomous vehicles, and networked systems.
In 2014, Dr. Berg was appointed as a Program Director for the Dynamics, Controls, and System Diagnostics (DCSD) program in the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation at the US National Science Foundation. This program receives over 400 proposals per year in the area of dynamics and control, which are reviewed by panels of experts convened and supervised by Dr. Berg and his DCSD colleagues. Dr. Berg is also the CMMI point of contact for the National Robotics Initiative (NRI), an interagency program focusing on human-robot collaboration and including NSF, NASA, NIH, USDA, DARPA, and DOD.