PSU Magazine Spring 1993

Marek Perkowski's research has resulted in everything from a method to determine ovulation and fertility to a prototype of a robotic wheelchair equipped with voice control. ByValerie Brown Associate Professor Marek Perkowski Real-world problem solving arek Perkowski's office in the Portland Center for Advanced Technology is filled to capacity with the tools of his trade. The floor-to-ceiling shelving on three walls is jammed with books, tacking trays, binders and folders. Cardboard boxes on the floor are crammed with the same. Piles of paper cover most available horizontal space, almost burying the four computers. And a stepladder is handily poised in the middle of the floor. Yet high on the wall above this eeming chaos, a series of very different images presides: framed color portraits of microscopic electronic circuitry, a testament to the larger principle that rules his life. Perkowski is an associate professor of electrical engineering. Now in his 10th year at PSU, Perkowski teaches graduate classes and supervises 22 doc– toral and master's degree candidates. His research interests fall into three general-and sometimes overlapping– areas: logic synthesi , image processing, and robotics. Of the three, he says, "I spend 80 percent of my time on logic synthesis." Perkowski has published extensively on the mathematical processes involved in devising the programs necessary to make computer hardware. For example, logic synthesis and optimization theory are used in the 386 microprocessors that run most personal computers, enabling chip size to decrease and processing efficiency to increase. Working with Cypress Semiconductors of San Jose, Calif., and Beaverton, Perkowski helped develop a programmable logic device (microchip) that was, in 1992, the fastest of its kind on the market. But Perkowski's work in image processing and robotics gets more atten– tion, probably because these areas are a bit more accessible to the average person, whose computer literacy may peak with the ability to move a cursor around on a computer screen. The "PSUBOT" (Portland State University roBOT) is probably the most visible focus of Perkowski's local research interests. He has encouraged several of his engineering students to work on the problem of mobility for severely disabled people. For the past three years, Perkowski has supervised graduate student Kevin Stanton's work PSU 19