Dr. Tom Cavicchi

Professional work experience: Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at GCC since 1993, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering at University of Akron

Degrees:  BSEE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MS, PhD University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Research interests: Past research involved digital signal processing, ultrasonic medical imaging/wave theory, control systems, communication systems, electrical engineering education (see textbooks and IEEE Transactions on Education articles below), controlled thermonuclear fusion, adaptive control, high-voltage electric field measurement

Hobbies & interests:  Music and art, nature, hiking, conservation, Christian faith, running, biking, physical fitness, history, and literature

Recent publications and scholarly work: 

Textbooks:

Digital Signal Processing, T. J. Cavicchi, John Wiley & Sons, NewYork, 2000.
 
Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering:  Principles and Applications, T. J. Cavicchi, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1993.

Articles:

T. J. Cavicchi, "Experimentation and analysis:  SigLab/MATLAB data acquisition experiments for signals and systems," IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 48, No. 3, Aug., 2005, pp. 540-550.

T. J. Cavicchi, “Integration of programmable logic controller programming experience into control systems courses,” ASEE Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, 2008, paper AC 2008-3, conference proceedings (16 pages).

T. J. Cavicchi, "Phase margin revisited:  phase-root locus, Bode plots, and phase shifters," IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 46, No. 1, Feb., 2003, pp. 168-176.

T. J. Cavicchi, "Simplified method for analytical evaluation of convolution integrals," IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 45, No. 2, May, 2002, pp. 142-144.

T. J. Cavicchi, "Minimum return difference as a compensator design tool," IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 44, No. 2, May, 2001, pp. 120-128.

T. J. Cavicchi, "Multiple reactions in inductors," IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 40, No. 1, Feb., 1997, pp. 78-88.

T. J. Cavicchi, "Phase-root locus and relative stability," IEEE Control Systems Magazine, Vol. 16, No. 4, Aug., 1996, pp. 69-77.

T. J. Cavicchi, "Impulse invariance and multiple-order poles" IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, Vol. 44, No. 9, Sept., 1996, pp. 2344-2347.

T. J. Cavicchi, "On DFT time-domain interpolation," IEE Proceedings, Part F (Radar and Signal Processing), Vol. 139, No. 3, June, 1992, pp. 207-211.

T. J. Cavicchi, "Matrix solution of transient high-order ultrasonic scattering,"
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 90, No. 2, August, 1991, pp. 1085-1092.

T. J. Cavicchi, "Transient high-order ultrasonic scattering in soft tissue," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 88, No. 2, Aug., 1990, pp. 1132-1141.

T. J. Cavicchi and W. D. O'Brien, "Numerical study of higher-order diffraction tomography via the sinc basis moment method," Ultrasonic Imaging, Vol. 11, pp. 42-74, 1989.

T. J. Cavicchi, S. A. Johnson, and W. D. O'Brien, Jr., "Application of the sinc basis moment method to the reconstruction of infinite circular cylinders," IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 22-33, 1988.

T. J. Cavicchi and W. D. O'Brien, "Acoustic scattering of an incident cylindrical wave by an infinite circular cylinder," IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 78-80, 1988.

T. J. Cavicchi and W. D. O'Brien, "Heating distribution color graphics for homogeneous lossy spheres irradiated with plane wave ultrasound," IEEE Transactions on Sonics and Ultrasonics, vol. SU-32, pp. 17-25, 1985.

T. J. Cavicchi and W. D. O'Brien, Jr., "Heat Generated by Ultrasound in an Absorbing Medium," Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 76, No. 4, pp. 1244-1245, 1984.

Reviewer for:

            IEEE Transactions on Communications
            IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing
            IEEE Signal Processing Letters
            IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
            IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control
            IEEE Transactions on Education
            IEEE Potentials
            Signal Processing Journal
            Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
            Ultrasonic Imaging
            Beta version of Matlab/Simulink
            NIH grant proposals
            NSF grant proposals
            Textbook review

Professional societies: Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Xi, AAAS, ASEE.

Miscellaneous:  Some interesting modern topics covered in the advanced courses taught by Dr. Cavicchi:

Communication systems (two-semester sequence): 
3G/WCDMA/rake receiver, 4G/LTE/SC-FDMA, QAM, OFDM (for Wi-Fi, 4G, WiMAX, etc.), channel capacity, source coding/compression techniques (MPEG, MP3, CELP/voice encoding, …), DSL, digital TV, HD radio (IBOC), RFID, low-noise amplifiers, efficient power amplifiers (e.g., Doherty, predistortion techniques), phase-locked loops/frequency synthesizers/direct digital synthesis, Gilbert cell, smart antennas, diversity, convolutional FEC (hard/soft/traceback Viterbi decoding), trellis-coded modulation (TCM) FEC, Reed-Solomon/BCH/Galois-field FEC, pseudonoise sequences, brief introduction to encryption, networks (ATM, MPLS, SS7/VoIP, VoD), cable headends, satellite TV/radio, fiber optics/DWDM, digital filters, Bluetooth, UWB.  Extensive MATLAB/Simulink simulations.  

Control systems (two-semester sequence):  Control system applications, PID, process control, actuators, sensors, lead/lag feedback control, feedforward control, real-time control, programmable logic controllers (PLCs/RSLogix, RSView32 programming), linearization, disturbance rejection, state-space digital control (pole placement, observers), real-world state-space applications, optimization and state-space continuous- and discrete-time optimal control (Euler-Lagrange equations, Hamiltonian/Lagrangian, LQR and arbitrary trajectory following for multi-input systems), Lagrangian mechanics, analytical robotics (inverse kinematic, differential motion analysis, trajectory planning, dynamic analysis, control/computed torque of robotic arms), fuzzy logic control, neural network control.  Extensive MATLAB/Simulink simulations.  

Senior laboratories:
DSP (digital signal processing) lab using TI’s TMS320C6713 digital signal processor
sampling/aliasing, number representations; Code Composer Studio IDE/debugging tools, FIR filtering (sample-by-sample and frame-based processing), convolution using buffers/circular buffering, frequency response (theoretical and data-based), sinusoidal generation by three methods, GEL GUI, buffer overruns, DMA, McBSP, register work, PaRAM and EDMA buffer chaining for triple buffering, profile clock, FFT/fast Convolution, spectral plots in CCS, interworking with MATLAB

SigLab data acquisition/analysis (see my IEEE article about this original lab sequence)
Virtual network analyzer and other virtual instruments, verify Fourier analysis experimentally, spectral leakage, windowing, interworking with MATLAB, autospectrum analysis, double-transients network experiment, cross-correlation, cantilever beam resonant frequency measurement/prediction from theory, speaker/microphone frequency response by multiple methods, aliasing/prediction of alias frequency/hearing of aliasing, long record capture, system identification

Digital communication systems lab                 
Introduction to digital signaling, noise and error detection/correction, clock regeneration techniques, multiple line codes, ASK, FSK, PSK, QPSK modulation and demodulation, extensive phase-locked loop experiments. 

Microwave trainer
Measurement of microwave frequency/wavelength, measurement of VSWR, measurement of microwave power, diode detector law, impedance measurement,  impedance matching using Smith chart and tuner, horn antenna radiation pattern, waveguides and waveguide junctions, waveguide/coaxial transformer, microwave radio link, small set of fiber optics experiments included,

Quanser digital servo control training (QET) system
 Extensive servomotor modeling/verification of model, speed and position control, Disturbance, response/rejection, stable/unstable systems, PID control, integrator windup/resolution, haptic knob behaviors and ball/beam balance; additional digital  control fundamentals