UT ECE professors Sujay Sanghavi and Deji Akinwande have received Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Young Investigator Awards. Each year DTRA makes 10- 15 Young Investigator Awards nationally to researchers from various science and engineering fields.

DTRA will support Dr. Sanghavi's research into how epidemic-like processes or cascades spread on networks. The work is likely to enhance our understanding of biological, social and computer networks and lead to novel network design techniques that guarantee resilience and robustness to cascades.

Dr. Akinwande's proposed effort investigates the unique properties of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) two-dimensional (2D) materials for acoustic vibrational sensing. The work could lead to novel ways for passive sensing of activity or interference at remote, unattended sites with high-value security assets and threats.

Prof. Sujay Sanghavi is an Assistant Professor in ECE at The University of Texas at Austin, which he joined in July 2009. He got his PhD from UIUC, and a postdoc from MIT. His research interests lie at the intersection of two central challenges in modern systems: large-scale networking and high-dimensional data analysis, with a focus on algorithm design and evaluation. He received the NSF CAREER award in January 2010.

Prof. Deji Akinwande is an Assistant Professor in ECE at The University of Texas at Austin, which he joined in January 2010. He received the Ph.D. degree from Stanford University in December 2009. His thesis focused on the physics, chemistry, materials and electronic properties of carbon materials. He has published widely on carbon nanomaterials in a variety of disciplines including physics, chemistry, materials, and electrical engineering journals.