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Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture Facility, Operations, and Safety Services

Centers, Labs, and Institutes

Below are a few of the Centers, Labs and Institutes Voiland College operates. A comprehensive list can be found on the Voiland College’s Centers, Institutes, and Laboratories page.

Institute for Materials Research

The Institute for Materials Research (IMR), previously the Center for Materials Research (CMR), conducts interdisciplinary research in areas including atomic calculations, ceramic processing and characterization, environmental degradation, time resolved X-Ray analysis and super plasticity.

Xradia 810 Ultra used at the Center for Materials Research.
The Xradia 810 Ultra is a powerful x-ray microscope that plays a vital role in advancing materials research through non-destructive 3D imaging.
Center for Materials Research, entrance to Micro fabrication Clean Room.
Entrance to the Microfabrication Clean Room located in ETRL 002.
Center for Materials Research, Ultratech ALD machine.
Our Ultratech ALD machine can deposit a wide variety of films at the atomic level. Films are very conformal even in high-aspect ratio features. The chamber supports up to 8″ diameter substrates and a taller lid can accommodate samples as large as 3″ tall.

Composite Materials & Engineering Center

The Composite Materials & Engineering Center (CMEC) develops new building materials from a range of recycled and virgin resources. They also develop innovative structural systems to effectively use new materials while maintaining economic viability and public safety.

Composite Materials and Engineering Center, CLT press
The Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) Press being operated by a research faculty member, research associate, and an exchange student.
Composite Materials and Engineering Center, resin application.
Resin application for the CLT Press.
Composite Materials and Engineering Center lab with Governor Inslee.
Governor Jay Inlsee along side Robert Duncan, who is a lab manager in the Simpson Strong-Tie Research & Testing Laboratory.

Energy System Innovations Center

The Energy System Innovations Center (ESIC) unites research faculty, business leaders, and governmental organizations to address the demand for clean, reliable energy, including using Smart Grid technology to make the power system more efficient, responsive, and secure.

Energy System Innovations Center, server bank in smart grid demonstration and research investigation lab.
Server bank in the Smart Grid Demonstration and Research Investigation Lab (SGDRIL). The objective of this laboratory is to focus on the development and validation of power system operations and control algorithms.
the energy conversion lab.
EE/ME B54, Avista Energy Conversion Lab.
Energy System Innovations Center, photo-voltaic solar array in Research Park.
Located in Research Park, the photo-voltaic Solar Array is a test bed for transaction-based energy management. Research includes the operation of campus-scale micro grids to provide services to the bulk grid, and their extension to planning and operating resilient distribution systems and smart cities.

Hyper Lab

The HYPER laboratory’s mission is to efficiently advance the technology readiness level of hydrogen systems for the benefit of humanity. This mission has primarily focused on small-modular hydrogen liquefaction systems for renewable energy, and liquid hydrogen storage and dispensing systems for aerospace applications.  HYPER lab facilities include a testing area in the Engineering Teaching and Research Laboratory (ETRL) and an equipment research and assembly site in Thermal Fluids. The lab also has an outdoor liquid hydrogen testing facility for the development of small-modular hydrogen liquefiers, liquid hydrogen transfer equipment, and general hydrogen safety testing benefiting from an outdoor Class 1 Dev 1 area.

the hyper lab in ETRL 221.
Main research lab for the Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) Lab located in ETRL 221.
The cryogenics outdoor testing facility of the Hyper Lab.
The Cryogenics outdoor testing facility enables the HYPER lab to complete larger scale tests for safety related reasons. To the left is the Cougar LEAN (CLEAN) manufacturing station.
student built TFRB Fabrication Area.
Student built fabrication area in TFRB 113. This wall creates a natural buffer layer to promote increased safety.

Keck Biomedical Materials Lab

The W.M. Keck Biomedical Materials Research Lab’s bio-engineering research is focused in two broad areas – materials and structures for implants and drug delivery, and micro-machined ultrasonic transducers in biomedical imaging and therapeutics.

Lab for Atmospheric Research

The Laboratory for Atmospheric Research (LAR) conducts air quality research, emphasizing biosphere/atmosphere interactions and regional air quality measurements and modeling.

Tracer dispersion instrument on the Paccar Environmental Technology Building Roof.
In the lab for Atmospheric Research, students learn to use tracer dispersion instruments to measure dust plumes. Pictured here is the tracer dispersion instrument located on the roof of the Paccar Environmental Technology Building.
Carbon and Water Dynamics Field Study.
Pictured here is a Eddy covariance tower taking measurements of the carbon and water dynamics from a wheat field on the Palouse.
Interior view of the smog chamber in the Paccar Environmental Technology Building.
Located in the Paccar Environmental Technology Building, the walk-in smog chamber controls temperature, humidity and UV exposure in order to allow for laboratory simulation of various photo-chemical processes found in the atmosphere.

The Materials Testing Lab

The Materials Testing Lab located in ETRL 122 houses the Materials testing machines including a four post tensile/fatigue testing with an environmental chamber, a small two-post tension tester with digital image correlation setup, and a bi-axial, tension-torsion, testing system. For more information, please contact Dr. David Field at dfield@wsu.edu.

Smart Homes Lab

The CASAS Smart Home Lab uses a variety of sensor platforms and mobile devices to enhance people’s daily lives.  Using novel machine learning and artificial intelligence principles, researchers create smart home algorithms that work to understand and interact with residents.  Using activity recognition and learning the resident’s individual patterns, these smart homes can improve energy efficiency, provide timely prompts for various tasks, and help residents live independently while reducing caregiver burden. With over 150 smart home study sites deployed in real-world scenarios spanning more than a decade, researchers can test their algorithms in a wide variety of situations using historical and live data sets that provide real-time feedback.  In addition, the CASAS Lab routinely collaborates with researchers of different disciplines, including those in Nursing, Psychology, Indoor Air Quality, Robotics, and those overseas to design systems that are utilized across many areas of research and continue to improve our everyday lives.

Several boxes of motion sensors used by the Smart Homes Lab.
Motion sensors to be used to gather information of movement within spaces.
Research monitors being used to gather data and information for user space in the Smart Homes Lab.
Computer monitors displaying motion analysis taking place in the Chinook apartments. Researchers gather data of the tenants daily routine/movement via motion sensors.
robot designed by the CASAS lab.
Pictured here is the Robotic Activity Support (RAS). This robot is meant to act as an aid to someone who may need additional daily assistance.

Sport Science Lab

The Sports Science Laboratory investigates and models the effects of sports-related injuries on the body, particularly for head trauma.

chair in front of ball testing equipment station.
A Pneumatic Cannon that specializes in ball COR (Coefficient of Restitution and DS (Dynamic Stiffness) per ASTM standards.
Sports Science Lab with the motion analysis system.
Motion Analysis System. The Sports Science Laboratory uses a 10-camera infrared motion capture system to measure the movements of athletes and equipment, including detailed analysis of swing mechanics, timing and bat-ball contact characteristics. This allows us to understand how different training practices and equipment help or hurt an athlete’s performance.
piece of equipment to measure bat life.
Pictured here is the Accelerated Break-In (ABI) Machine. The intention of the ABI machine is to demonstrate how a composite bat will perform during its potential life on the field. It accelerates the fatigue of the bat so we can analyze how it will perform, without taking thousands of impacts on the bat itself.

VSCEB Surface Analysis Center

The In Situ Reactive Surface Analysis Center within the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering is one of the world’s foremost collection of chemical reactive surface analysis under in situ and operando conditions. The Center currently includes equipment for Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy under active reaction conditions.

VSCEB Surface Analysis Center with the Rigaku Smart Lab.
The Rigaku Smart Lab has multiple attachments allowing for all conventional high resolution XRD measurements as well as In situ measurement of samples under many variable conditions, Cross beam optics: parallel beam or Bragg-Brentano measurements, Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) and many more features.
LabRAM HR Microscope system at the VSCEB Surface Analysis Center.
Our LabRAM HR microscope system possesses dual path optics to allow fast, simple switching between Raman and FTIR mode at high spectroscopic resolutions. The spectrometer is coupled to a COHERENT Innova 90C FreD ion laser source (244nm / 488 nm) and a Ventus LP 532 laser (532 nm).
The Rigaku Miniflex 600 being used at the Surface analysis center.
The Rigaku MiniFlex 600 is used for routine powder diffraction with multi-sample changer/spinner and optical monochromator.

Washington Center for Asphalt Technology

The Washington Center for Asphalt Technology (WCAT) is one of about a dozen university-based asphalt technology labs around the country equipped to carry out bituminous and asphalt concrete testing in compliance with the newly adopted Superpave system. Superpave is a method to test performance of paving materials under specific environmental and engineering conditions. The lab features $500,000 in equipment for design of asphalt mixes to meet Superpave specifications.