REU Supplement: Control of Gas Tungsten Arc Weld Pool Surface

This Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) supplemental supports an undergraduate student to work on a novel compact sensor which is suitable for measuring the depth of the weld pool surface in manufacturing environment and has the potential to be extended for measuring full three-dimensional surface of the weld pool. The challenging issues include sensor design, interfacing the sensor with a digital signal processor, image processing, modeling of optical system, etc. In addition to providing research experience for an undergraduate student, this supplement will also attract a top student from under-represented groups to the area of manufacturing automation and possibly also to the PI.s research team as a graduate student.