J. Geoffrey Chase

3375 Alma, #160
Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 493-2585

geoffchase@yahoo.com
http://www.oocities.org/geoffchase

Summary of Skills and Experience

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

University of Canterbury Dept. of Mechanical Engineering -- 9/00 to present

Lecturer in the areas of control systems, MEMS design and applications, FEA and applied signal processing. Specialising in the design and signal processing for the control of large scale, complex systems such as nano-lithography. Also responsible for teaching courses in the areas of control systems and engineering mathematics

Infineon Technologies Corporation -- Sr. Applications Engr. -- 1/00 to 9/00

Develop applications for the highly parallel Infineon Carmel DSP core. Responsible for feasibility analysis and development of software test cases in C and Assembly, discovering advantageous applications, recommendations on future core technical development, technical marketing, technical seminar development and presentation, and significant customer interaction and customer support. Essentially, a jack of all trades for the technical marketing of this advanced DSP.

GN ReSound Inc. and Technical Solution Providers -- Consultant -- 6/99 to 10/99

Design, optimization and implementation of speech processing algorithms, using Matlab, SIMULINK and a Dspace (TM) system, for high fidelity, digital earpieces and hearing aids. Responsible for advanced filtering algorithm design to achieve the necessary signal conditioning for both radio inputs and microphone outputs to achieve high quality sound with minimal noise, modulation, and feedback. Specific algorithms developed in the areas of noise reduction, automatic gain control, active feedback cancellation, pitchshifting, and automatic signal compression. The use of Matlab and SIMULINK with Dspace created a firmware rapid prototyping environment, saving the customer over 1.5 years of development in the typical assembly code environment.

Reflectivity Inc. -- Independent Consultant -- 1/99 to 5/99

System modeling, analysis, and design optimization for precision motion, time domain, and thermal performance of a batch-fabricated MEMS micro-mirror device. Responsible for analysis, design input, and verification. Analysis performed using IntelliCad FEA tools, Matlab and Simulink, resulting in significant time savings for the customer.

Hughes Space and Communication and Ensemble Systems Corp. -- Independent Consultant -- 6/98 to 1/99

Developed a real time, graphically-based satellite control system software for the HS601HP spacecraft. Developed coding standards, methods, control procedures, and utilities with significat customer time and cost savings in addition to spacecraft control code design and analysis.

Gunn High School Engineering Technology Program -- Advisory Engineer -- 1/97 to present

Volunteer engineering advisor and coach for the Gunn HS robotics team and the associated Engineering Technology classes. Responsible for teaching students about engineering product design and development in the context of the US FIRST Robotics Competition held every spring. Also a member of the Engineering Technology advisory board which advises on the curriculum for the program which introduces high school students to engineering and design.

Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) -- Member of the Research Staff -- 9/95 to 1/98

Investigate the application of MEMS to active structural control and active structural strengthening problems. Research encompasses theoretical and experimental investigations including the design and testing of several MEMS based control systems. Applications include robust H-infinity, optimal, decentralized, and non-linear control designs. Additional research topics include active noise cancellation, and MEMS valve and actuator design.

• Team leader for control applications research from concept through implementation
• Responsible for specification, purchase and design oversight of all required equipment

General Motors Corp., CPC Engineering -- Project and Senior Project Engineer -- 7/86 to 1/92

Finite element analysis and optimization of full vehicle systems to create new vehicle designs. Responsibilities included model development and test lab validation, full vehicle and structural element design input, and creation of design specifications for vehicle vibration performance. Creation of new analysis techniques to improve analysis capabilities, and productivity. System models I created have been used to develop 5 vehicle platforms.

• Awarded General Motors Fellowship to attend Stanford University for M.S.

PROJECTS

Smart Structures:

• Development of optimal control methods for controlling the buckling of laminated composite plate structures, including design tradeoff analysis of passive versus active solutions. The application investigated was the stabilization of aircraft wing skins.
• Design, development and implementation of a MEMS-based active column using smart materials and MEMS sensors to stabilize an unstable system. This research was featured in ABC News, The New York Times, and other media. Several patents were filed.
• Developed several MEMS based control methods for smart structures, including: optimal pole placement, decentralized methods, and modal approaches.
• Determination of the performance and computational limits associated with optimal controller design for plate and column buckling, using linear matrix inequalities (LMI's).

Speech and Signal Processing:

• Designed and implemented advanced, real time, digital filtering algorithms for feedback cancellation, noise reduction, automatic gain control, proportional pitch shifting, and active feedback cancellation for high fidelity, digital earpieces and hearing aids
• Created rapid prototyping environment using a Dspace system to implement SIMULINK and Matlab simulations, in real time, with specified hardware environments to allow the evaluation of the algorithms with the hardware under operating conditions, saving the customer significant development time and cost.

MEMS Devices & Modeling:

• Experimental system identification to create models of PZT piezo-ceramic patches, at the Naval Research Labs (NRL), for use in creating MEMS-based active noise suppression systems.
• Design and simulation of a high speed MEMS air jet valve utilizing piezo-ceramics, and linear buckling phenomena. The design was created to take advantage of plasma etching and other pcb batch fabrication methods. Implementation is underway.
• Design and development of unstable MEMS valves for an airjet array.

Optimal Control & System Identification:

• Development and design of robust, optimal controllers for civil structures using LQR, H-infinity, and non-linear control methods. Implementations include the Sumida Tower (Tokyo), and studies of suspension bridges (Korea), and the US Active Structural Control Benchmark Problem (Breneman and Smith, 1996).
• Creation of C++ classes for programming neural networks. These classes were used to investigate the application of Cascade-Correlation neural networks to structural system ID problems.

Finite Element Analysis, Optimization & Design:

• Creation and validation of finite element, full vehicle system models for General Motors vehicle (platforms), including the: Cavalier (J), APV (GM200), Grand Prix (W), Camaro (F), and Corsica (L). Project included structural optimization for vehicle vibration performance, and on-road development and verification of design.
• Modeling and analysis of vehicle dynamics for ride performance. Includes analysis for active suspension development.

Aerospace and Satellite Systems:

• Analysis and development of real time ground station control system software for the HS601HP satellite. Software was designed to for station keeping procedures as well as telemetry and command procedures as part of a small development team.

Refereed Engineering and Scientific Publications

PATENTS

• "Sheet Materials Transport System," US-5744732, 1998, Kubby et al.
• "Sheet Materials Mass Measuring System," US-5714697, 1998, Kubby et al.
• "Paper Handling Flap Valve Array System" US-6004395, 1999, Yim M H et al. (+1 European patent)
• "Unstable Flap Valve for Fluid Flow Control" US-6098661, Yim, M H, et al. (+1 European patent).
• Chase et al. "Fluid Control System" (allowed 2000)

Invited Seminars and Presentations

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering -- Stanford University, Stanford, CA -- 1995

• Dissertation:: "H-infinity Control For Vibration Control Of Civil Structures In Seismic Zones"
• Principal Advisor: Dr. H. Allison Smith, Prof. Of Civil Engineering
• Co-Advisor: Dr. S. P. Boyd, Prof. Of Electrical Engineering

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering -- Stanford University, Stanford, CA -- 1990

• Division of Applied Mechanics
• Course work: Structural Dynamics, Analytical Dynamics, Kinematics and Spacecraft Dynamics, and Structural Analysis and Design
• General Motors Fellow

B.S. in Mechanical Engineering -- Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH -- 1986

• Graduated with High Honors
• Obtained E.I.T. certificate in Ohio (May 1986)