UB - University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Research Laboratories

Applied Operations Research Laboratory

This laboratory supports the application of operations research tools to real-world problems. Its primary objective is to provide infrastructure support for sponsored program activity in this area. Research sponsors have included the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Justice, Boeing, Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, United Airlines, and the Center for Transportation Injury Research. Several graduate students, as well as some undergraduate students are affiliated with or use this lab, and over the past two summers a high school senior has completed a summer internship in the lab. The laboratory has four computer workstations, a printer, and high-tech OR software (CPLEX, AMPL, ARENA). A part-time research secretary helps with the management of the lab. Key journals in the OR area are also housed in this lab.

Research Institute for Safety and Security in Transportation

The laboratory has been used for a series of research projects concerning human factors issues in aviation inspection and maintenance. With the cooperation of major airline research partners, the research projects have assisted the FAA’s Office of Aviation Medicine and Sandia National Laboratories. Inspection tasks associated with security screening have also been examined for the Transportation Security Administration. Approximately twenty graduate students have worked on funded and non-funded research projects in this area in recent years, earning seven Ph.D. degrees and numerous M.S. degrees. The facilities include two computer workstations, plus eye-tracking hardware and software. Software includes Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, and Minitab statistical analysis software.

Center for Excellence in Global Enterprise Management Laboratory

This laboratory is used for data gathering and analysis for all Center for Excellence in Global Enterprise Management’s research. The facilities include three computer workstations for graduate student use. The lab provides simulation modeling and analysis for research in hospital capacity estimation for disaster management, airport security system screening, and airline check-in operations, and a wide range of healthcare projects, including simulation of emergency department use of information technology, emergency department patient throughput improvement, and operating room capacity analysis. Green product design methodologies have also been developed for environmentally conscious manufacturing. Research sponsors include National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), Buffalo Mercy Hospital, Catholic Health System Home Care, and Saint Vincent Health Center.

Center for Multisource Information Fusion Laboratory

This laboratory supports the research activities of the staff of the Center for Multisource Information Fusion. The center's activity level fluctuates, and personnel support has ranged from four to thirteen students and three to seven faculty annually. The facilities include one room used for research and center administration and several offices that house faculty and students. Computer workstations, printers, and a computer projector are used for research and conferencing activities. The laboratory incorporates various sophisticated software packages provided by the U.S. government for research, including a robust simulation environment provided by the Army Research Laboratory, as well as a wide variety of simulation and analysis systems accumulated over time from in-house research.

Cognitive Engineering Laboratory

This research facility supports investigation in the areas of human computer interaction, information displays, and human decision making. The facility has supported the work of more than a dozen graduate students in completing their M.S. or Ph.D. research, as well as several undergraduate students who have been paid research assistants on these projects. Projects conducted in the laboratories have been funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Air Force, and several defense-related companies. The laboratory is equipped with several networked computer workstations. Software available for research purposes includes SPSS, Visual Studio, Camtasia, and Noldus Observer (an analysis package for coding continuous audio, video, and screen capture data).

Cognitive System Laboratory

This research lab supports computational modeling in human factors with their application in intelligent system design. It also supports the research in neuronergonomics and transportation safety research. Currently, there are several doctoral and master students working in this lab. The lab has two major systems: 1) a 40-channel EEG/ERP system and 2) a ground vehicle simulator. Computational modeling and data analysis software, including discrete-event simulation software (Promodel), Matlab, and Maple. Other software include (Visual Basic, Visual C++) to simulate various user interfaces.

Occupational Biomechanics Laboratory

This laboratory is equipped with 3D motion capture systems, a full body dynamometer system, EMG measurement equipment, and a force plate system. The laboratory is used for research activities in the area of physical ergonomics, safety and occupational biomechanics, and also supports teaching undergraduate courses including IE441 Systems Safety, where students utilize the laboratory equipment to identify and assess the physical risks of work environments.

Command and Control Laboratory

This laboratory was established under funding provided by New York State and is configured to support research in collaborative/team decision-making, visualization for decision support, and human factors studies to include focus-of-attention research. This facility also supports research on individual and team decision-making and system control. The laboratory contains several large screen displays and three configurable individual workstations, each equipped with positionable flat panel displays, networked computers, microphones, and high quality headphones for team communication or control over the auditory environment. The room includes partitions to create individual or team workspaces. Data collection is supported through an eye-tracking system (which can capture eye movements on an individual computer screen or the room environment); a multi-camera video system to capture team interactions; and screen and voice recording software. There are several additional workstations supporting experimental control and data analysis.

Manufacturing Design and Engineering Laboratory

This laboratory has been used for research activities in production and manufacturing systems. The research projects in manufacturing systems are in the areas of computational geometry in computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), CAD/CAM/CAE (computer aided engineering) integration, rapid prototyping and product realization. The facilities are used to develop advanced software tools and methods in design and manufacturing. The facility houses four IBM workstations, IBM industrial computers, and the supporting interface for digital/analog control. Three Silicon Graphics workstations are available for research use.

Undergraduate ISE/Manufacturing Systems Laboratory

This space provides students with experience in the design of manufacturing systems and simulations. Manufacturing equipment in the facility includes tabletop 3- and 4-axis CNC milling machines (by FlashCut, Rhino, Terco, a lathe (by Emco), several robots and a belt conveyor, controllers, and a 3-D scanner for rapid prototyping.

Simulation Optimization Laboratory

The simulation-optimization lab is involved in research involving the use of discrete-event simulation for solving large-scale and complex control-theoretic problems arising in numerous industrial settings. Examples of problems studied include airline revenue management, lean manufacturing, remanufacturing management, and supply chain management. It is equipped with five UNIX workstations and two PCs. Research sponsors include the National Science Foundation, Gibraltar Metals, COGNIGEN, and CUBRC.

Work Analysis and Design Laboratory

This laboratory is dedicated to the study of how the physical requirements of work impact human performance, as well as physiological, psychophysical, and biomechanical outcomes such as heart rate, perceived exertion, work satisfaction, and body motion. It contains both general and special-purpose facilities for the simulation of a variety of manufacturing tasks and conditions, and measurement that includes a Motion Monitor electromagnetic motion analysis system, a Lumbar Motion Monitor System, Biometrics Electro-goniometers and data acquistion systems, MVTA Multimedia Video Analysis System, a personal heat stress monitor, 8-channel and portable 2-channel EMG measurement systems, digital dynamometers, digital video recorders, a variety of anthropometric measurement equipment, and personal computers equipped with human modeling, biomechanical analysis, and video analysis software packages. Recent sponsors for the research conducted in this laboratory include the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the United States Access Board, and corporations such as Delphi Automotive and Greatbatch Technologies equipped with Windows NT, Office, Adobe, human modeling and biomechanical analysis, and video analysis software packages, two digital video recorders, Sony 8mm and VHS VCRs, and a video monitor.