Who Won the Graphical System Design Achievement Awards?

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Last night, more than 180 people, including engineers, scientists, students, researchers, NI leaders, and industry experts, attended the 2011 Graphical System Design Achievement Awards ceremony to honor the 16 contest finalists competing in the following application categories: Automated Test, Embedded Monitoring, Advanced Control Systems, Life Sciences, Robotics, Validation Test, and Education. In addition, all finalists were considered for the following featured awards: Community’s Choice, LabVIEW FPGA Innovation, sponsored by Xilinx, Green Engineering, Humanitarian, Editor’s Choice, and the Customer Application of the Year.

So, which engineers took home these awards? Dave Wilson, NI director of corporate marketing and academic segment, gave the audience an overview of each and every finalist’s application before revealing the big winners.

Advanced Research

Winner (also Customer Application of the Year and LabVIEW FPGA Winner): FPGA-Based Feedback Control of a Single Atom Trajectory by Christian Sames from the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

Finalist: Using LabVIEW and PXI to Measure the Temperature and Density of Fusion Plasmas on a Tokamak COMPASS by Milan Aftanas from the Institute of Plasma Physics AS CR, v.v.i.

Customer Application of the Year Winner, Christian Sames, With Michael Dams From NI Germany

Advanced Control Systems

Winner: Positioning Actuators for the European Extremely Large Telescope Primary Mirror With LabVIEW and PXI Hardware by Miguel Núñez from Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Finalist: Developing a Solar-Powered Milk Chiller With LabVIEW and NI Single-Board RIO by Sorin Grama from Promethean Power Systems

Finalist: Powering Remote Villages with Revolutionary Airborne Wind Technology Using NI CompactRIO by Matt Bennett from Windlift

Automated Test

Winner: Texas Instruments Increases Firmware Test Platform Throughput, Coverage, and Reliability with NI Hardware and Software by Sambit Panigrahi from Texas Instruments

Finalist: Using NI FlexRIO to Develop a Cost-Effective Solution for 3D and HD Video by Mauro Arigossi from Alfamation

Education

Winner: MIT Students Use LabVIEW and CompactRIO to Design and Implement a Dynamic Output Feedback Controller by Professor Jonathan How and Brandon Luders from MIT

Finalist: Using LabVIEW, CompactRIO, and PXI to Study Renewable Energy Sources by Prof. Peric and Prof. Željko Ban from University of Zagreb

Embedded Monitoring

Winner: Remotely Assessing the Structural Health of the LIRR Railroad Viaduct by Jim Campbell, Brian Lander, and Dan Fridline from Viewpoint Systems and STRAAM Corporation

Finalist: Creating a Distributed Wireless Monitoring System for Aircraft Noise by Luis Pastor Sánchez from Center for Computing Research, National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico City, Mexico

Life Sciences

Winner: Using NI FlexRIO to Develop a High-Speed, Compact OCT Imaging System by Takuya Suzuk from Santec Corporation

Finalist (also Humanitarian and Editor's Choice Winner): Developing the World’s First Real-Time 3D OCT Medical Imaging System With NI FlexRIO by Dr. Kohji Ohbayashi from Kitasato University

Robotics

Winner: Simulation Software Improves Design Process for Robotic Manipulator by Lisa Mosier

Finalist (also Community’s Choice Winner): Developing a Leg-Wheel Hybrid Mobile Robot Using LabVIEW and CompactRIO by Pei-Chun Lin, Shen-Chiang Chen, Ke Jung Huang, Shuan-Yu Shen, and Cheng-Hsin from National Taiwan University

Validation Test

Winner: Using LabVIEW, PXI, and CompactRIO to Rapidly Develop Structural Test Systems for a Space Exploration Vehicle by Dave Baker from G Systems

Finalist (also Green Engineering Award Winner): Using CompactRIO and LabVIEW to Verify the Design and Test the Durability of a Wind Turbine Drive Train by Rasmus Vistisen and Morten Petersen from Vestas Wind Systems and CIM Industrial

Congratulations to all the winners! Visit ni.com/gsdawards to read more about the contest and the finalists' and winners' papers.