{"id":22345,"date":"2021-10-26T13:55:56","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T13:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=22345&post_type=story"},"modified":"2025-04-18T03:05:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T03:05:41","slug":"strengthening-our-nation","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/strengthening-our-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Strengthening Our Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall 2021\u00a0<\/em>|\u00a0By Robert Stephens | Illustrations by Patrick Fennessy\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The world came to a screeching halt on Aug. 14, 2003 \u2014 or\u00a0at least it did for 50 million people across the northeastern\u00a0United States and into Canada. On that day a tree branch\u00a0brushed against a power line in Ohio, starting a series of\u00a0failures that became the most widespread blackout in\u00a0North American history. Traffic lights from Boston to\u00a0Toronto went black. Subways in New York sat still. Roller\u00a0coasters in Ohio stopped mid-climb. Communication\u00a0systems went silent, leaving people to wonder, \u201cWhat\u2019s\u00a0going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

The massive outage, less than two years after the\u00a0terrorist attacks of 9\/11, reminded Americans of the need\u00a0to have the world\u2019s smartest people on our side, furthering\u00a0research to improve our security and way of life. UCF\u00a0researchers are leading the way in many areas. They see\u00a0the future, anticipate covert threats, and envision real\u00a0ways to protect everything and everyone by fortifying our\u00a0infrastructure, advancing our technology, and training the\u00a0next generation who will carry on their charge.<\/p>\n

\n

\"A<\/p>\n

STRENGTHENING OUR\u00a0POWER GRID<\/span><\/h2>\n

Wei Sun, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering\u00a0and Computer Science
\nProject headquarters:<\/strong> UCF\u2019s Siemens Digital Grid Lab
\nPartners:<\/strong> U.S. Department of Energy, Open Energy\u00a0Solutions, Duke Energy, Consumers Energy, Virginia Tech<\/p>\n

\n

Nearly 7,000 miles from the epicenter of the Northeast\u00a0blackout of 2003, Associate Professor Wei Sun, then a\u00a0student at Tianjin University in China, sat, coincidentally,\u00a0in a class about power systems. A different question came\u00a0to his mind: How could that possibly happen in the\u00a0United States?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of the reason I\u2019m doing this,\u201d says Sun. In\u00a0front of him is a monitor displaying a simulated digitized\u00a0grid of substations, transmission lines and homes. In the\u00a0simulation, a red dot occasionally appears. \u201cThat\u2019s a gap\u00a0where a serious breakdown could occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sun conducted his doctoral research on the 2003\u00a0blackout and recovery when blackouts typically traced back\u00a0to fallen branches, failed transformers or overloaded systems.\u00a0But America\u2019s energy structure has grown exponentially\u00a0more complex, which is why Sun came to UCF and is leading\u00a0energy resiliency efforts.<\/p>\n

Here, he\u2019s collaborating with faculty, students, corporate\u00a0partners and the Department of Energy to explore\u00a0methods to prevent the newest version of a devastating\u00a0power loss: cyberattacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur power grid evolves daily,\u201d says Sun. \u201cWe constantly add to it with solar, wind and batteries. But every time a\u00a0component is added, it opens a potentially vulnerable gap\u00a0for someone else with bad intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Americans continue to invest in solar and wind\u00a0power, hackers discover more opportunities to wreak\u00a0havoc by targeting whole systems.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Hackers are] more likely to think bigger and shut\u00a0down transportation, communication and financial\u00a0systems,\u201d says Sun.<\/p>\n

And they do it with far less drama than a lightning strike.<\/p>\n

Just before Christmas in 2015, hackers disrupted\u00a0power to 230,000 people in Ukraine. It\u2019s believed to have\u00a0started with a phishing email. In late 2019, cyberattackers\u00a0snuck malware into Texas-based SolarWinds\u2019 system and\u00a0eventually spied on clients for nine months before the bug\u00a0was discovered and removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to get into the mind of a cyberattacker,\u201d says\u00a0Sun, \u201cbut that\u2019s what our team is trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sun\u2019s team uses mathematical equation simulation and\u00a0hardware test beds to develop graphical power grids\u00a0like the one on his screen. Within each grid, algorithms\u00a0monitor and update behaviors. The red dot shows up the\u00a0moment something misbehaves, and a warning is shared\u00a0systemwide, triggering proactive defense<\/a> and initiating\u00a0adaptive self-healing actions. It\u2019s similar to the software\u00a0that credit card companies use to immediately notify\u00a0customers of suspicious purchases.<\/p>\n

[blockquote source=”Wei Sun, associate professor of electrical\u00a0engineering and computer science”]\u201c[Hackers are] more likely to\u00a0think bigger and shut down\u00a0transportation, communication\u00a0and financial systems.\u201d\u00a0[\/blockquote]<\/p>\n

The Department of Energy thinks so highly of the\u00a0technology that it awarded Sun\u2019s group a $3.2 million\u00a0grant in August to keep the momentum going. A team of\u00a0corporate partners and universities are contributing to a\u00a0$1.55 million cost-share for additional research.<\/p>\n

The goal is to eventually implement the program into\u00a0a utility test bed with Duke Energy in the Southeast and\u00a0Consumers Energy in the Midwest.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day attackers are trying to break into the grid,\u00a0and we can only imagine what they want to do,\u201d says Sun.\u00a0\u201cWith this, we can be stealthier than they are, and stay a\u00a0step ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"A<\/p>\n

STRENGTHENING OUR\u00a0DEFENSE<\/span><\/h2>\n

Konstantin Vodopyanov, 21st Century Chair,\u00a0Professor, Optics and Photonics<\/a>, and Physics<\/a>
\nProject headquarters:<\/strong> Center for Research and\u00a0Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL)<\/a>
\nPartners:<\/strong> NASA, Air Force, Navy, U.S. Department\u00a0of Defense<\/p>\n

\n

In an indiscreet space on the east side of UCF\u2019s campus,\u00a0Professor Konstantin Vodopyanov looks around. \u201cIt\u00a0happened right here, in this room,\u201d he says. Three years\u00a0ago, he saw what no one else could see.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all know certain molecules and isotopes are in the\u00a0air we breathe,\u201d Vodopyanov says, \u201cbut to see 10 of them\u00a0defined with certainty \u2026 that was a big step for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had taken more than a decade for Vodopyanov to\u00a0develop the special table-mounted laser in his CREOL\u00a0lab. With it, he could identify water droplets and\u00a0carbon dioxide \u2014 not surprising. But he also saw carbon\u00a0monoxide, methane and nitrogen dioxide, which occur\u00a0naturally but can also be toxic in heavy concentrations.<\/p>\n

How could he be 100% sure of what he saw with the laser?<\/p>\n

\u201cI read the \u2018bar codes,\u2019 \u201d says Vodopyanov.<\/p>\n

If you could see into the infrared spectrum, you\u00a0might see that each molecule is encoded with a series\u00a0of resonances, or lines. Vodopyanov\u2019s laser can see all of\u00a0them. It sends a beam across a room or between buildings,\u00a0combing the bar codes on those microscopic molecules the\u00a0way a scanner at Lowe\u2019s reads the bar codes on paint cans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe code never changes, whether the molecule is on\u00a0the moon or in front of your face,\u201d says Vodopyanov.<\/p>\n

Vodopyanov\u2019s laser technology could be used in\u00a0healthcare to diagnose myriad illnesses and diseases by\u00a0identifying molecules in a patient\u2019s breath. It could also\u00a0be a tool to alert the Department of Homeland Security if\u00a0biohazardous chemicals were to be released into the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are just beginning to recognize the benefits of\u00a0this technology,\u201d says Vodopyanov, whose research\u00a0has attracted more than $5 million in funding since he\u00a0came to UCF in 2013. The university offers more than\u00a0opportunities for building corporate partnerships. \u201c[UCF]\u00a0has the right environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vodopyanov grew up in a family of physicists, including\u00a0a grandmother whom he\u2019d visit in Siberia. In her lab he\u00a0would observe how she gathered scientists around to\u00a0share ideas. \u201cThat\u2019s what it is like here. We learn from each\u00a0other.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friendly demeanor helps too. In a California pub\u00a0he sat down next to 2005 Nobel Prize winner John Hall\u00a0just to ask some questions about laser frequency combs.\u00a0A few years later, he saw another Nobel Prize-winning\u00a0scientist, Theodor H\u00e4nsch, riding a train in Munich, so he\u00a0asked H\u00e4nsch what he thought about using the broadband\u00a0frequency comb (laser) to identify molecules in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201c[H\u00e4nsch] said it was a great idea,\u201d says Vodopyanov.\u00a0\u201cMoments like that inspire me to keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"A<\/p>\n

STRENGTHENING OUR\u00a0ECONOMY<\/span><\/h2>\n

Paul Gazzillo, Assistant Professor,\u00a0Computer Science<\/a>
\nProject headquarters:<\/strong>\u00a0L3Harris Engineering Center
\nPartner:<\/strong> U.S. Department of Defense<\/p>\n

\n

The words \u201c2 trillion dollars\u201d roll right off the tongue. The\u00a0mind, however, cannot comprehend the enormity. Spend\u00a0a billion dollars per year and it would take 2,000 years to\u00a0exhaust $2 trillion.<\/p>\n

Even for a computer scientist, it\u2019s just too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be very complicated,\u201d says Assistant Professor\u00a0Paul Gazzillo. He heads a project with the lofty goal\u00a0of tracking the movement of illicit corporate money\u00a0worldwide, which totals an estimated $2 trillion every\u00a0year. The number is raw because it\u2019s a blend of tax evasion,\u00a0money laundering, healthcare fraud, credit card breaches,\u00a0drug trafficking and any scheme intended to remain\u00a0undetected. For investigators, it can take years to track\u00a0one case.<\/p>\n

With the help of a former FBI agent and two other\u00a0computer science researchers, Gazzillo is on a mission\u00a0to simplify the process. When Gazzillo says they might\u00a0be onto something soon, it should matter to everyone.\u00a0Because every dollar in a stack of $2 trillion could be tied\u00a0to an unfathomable story:<\/p>\n