Toussaint awarded two research grants from the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative

Kimani C. Toussaint, Jr., an assistant professor in mechanical science and engineeirng, was recently awarded funding from the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) for two separate research projects.

A total of 13 projects were selected for funding in spring 2011. Topics range from the development and combination of new biomedical imaging methods to better detect, analyze, and track autoimmune diseases to the investigation of adaptive imaging concepts that combine optical and mathematical methodologies to tackle issues related to security, biomedical analysis, and neuroscience.

Toussaint is principal investigator on one of the projects in collaboration with Boston University and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. The aim of the project is to develop a method of transmitting light through a highly scattering, dynamically changing, medium using MEMS-based deformable mirrors. The project has applications spanning many areas of imaging science including biological microscopy through dense tissue and covert surveillance through opaque screens for defense and security.
 
In collaboration with the University of Minnesota,Toussaint is also co-investigator on a second project aimed at introducing a new paradigm for intelligent interactive imaging. It combines the second-harmonic generation microscopy that Toussaint specializes in with 3-D user interface and data visualization technology in order to leverage the best of both human and machine intelligence for smarter imaging.

In addition to his appointment with the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Toussaint is also an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Department of BioEngineering, and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
 
Established through a $40 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation in 2003, the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative is a 15-year effort to enhance communication among researchers, funding agencies, universities, and the general public--with the objective of stimulating interdisciplinary research at the most exciting frontiers. These competitive seed grants aim to fill a critical gap in funding for research on new ideas. Major federal funding programs do not typically provide support in areas that are considered risky or unusual. The Futures grants allow researchers to start recruiting students and postdoctoral fellows, purchasing equipment, and acquiring preliminary data---all of which can position the researchers to compete for larger awards from other public and private sources.
 
More information about the NAKFI program can be found at http://www.keckfutures.org/conferences/imaging-science/grantees.html.
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Contact: Kimani C. Toussaint, Jr., Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, 217/244-4088.

Maureen O'Leary, director of public information, Office of News and Public Information, The National Academies, 202/334-2138.

If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, editor, Engineering Communications Office, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 217/244-7716.