Education:

• PhD, Applied Mechanics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 2004
• MS, Applied Mechanics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 2000
• MS, Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 1999
• BS, Electrical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 1997

Research Interests: ^top

My current research pertains to vibratory electromechanical systems in which energy efficiency plays an important role. Subsets of such technology include self-powered structural control systems, and vibration energy harvesting systems.

A self-powered vibration control system is comprised of a network of electromechanical transducers that suppress structural dynamics by converting vibratory energy into electrical energy. This electrical energy is then reused at a later time or by another transducer in the network, and is also used to overcome parasitic losses. One interesting application concerns the enhancement of the resilience of buildings and bridges during seismic events.

Vibratory energy harvesting systems are electromechanical devices that are expressly designed to extract maximal electrical power from vibratory mechanical phenomena, for use by other systems. Currently the main application focus is on utility-scale ocean wave energy systems. Other applications include piezoelectric energy harvesters for wireless sensors, and electromagnetic harvesters for automotive suspensions.

For these technologies, my work focuses primarily on the analysis of their behavior in stochastic and uncertain environments, the use of feedback control to optimize their performance, and on their experimental validation.

Other: ^top

• ASCE Society Editor, American Control Conference (2009-present)
• Associate Editor, Journal of structural Control & Health Monitoring (2010-present)
• Chair, EMI Structural Health Monitoring & Control Committee (2011-present)
• Society memberships: ASCE, IEEE, HKN

Awards: ^top

• Earl I. Brown II Outstanding CE Faculty Award (Duke University) (2011)
• NSF CAREER Award (2008-13)
• NAE Emerging Frontiers in Engineering Symposium participant (2008)
• G.W. Housner Postdoctoral Fellowship (Caltech) (2004-5)
• Gordon Moore Graduate Fellowship (Caltech) (1999-2003)
• H.L. Bradley Graduate Fellowship (Virginia Tech) (1997-99)

Publications: ^top

• IL Cassidy, JT Scruggs, S Behrens, HP Gavin. “Design and experimental characterization of an electromechanical transducer for large-scale vibratory energy harvesting applications.” Journal of Intelligent Material Systems & Structures (in press).
• JT Scruggs, SM Lattanzio. “Optimal causal control of an ocean wave energy converter in stochastic waves.” Proceedings of the European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, Southampton, UK, September 5-9, 2011.
• IL Cassidy, JT Scruggs, S Behrens. “Optimization of partial-state feedback for vibratory energy harvesters subjected to broadband stochastic disturbances.” Smart Materials & Structures 20, Art. # 085019 (2011).
• JT Scruggs. “Peak-gain-bounded design of constrained controllable damping in vibrating structures.” Proceedings of the 31st American Control Conference, San Francisco, June 29-July 1, 2011.
• JT Scruggs, S Behrens. “Optimal Energy Harvesting from Bistate Force Loadings.” ASMEJournal of Vibration and Acoustics 133, Art. # 011008 (2011).
• JT Scruggs. “On the Causal Power Generation Limit of a Vibratory Energy Harvester in Broadband Stochastic Response.” Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 21(11), 1249-1262 (2010).
• AA Taflanidis, JT Scruggs, JL Beck. “Probabilistically-Robust Performance Optimization for Controlled Linear Systems.” ASME Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control 132(5), Art. # 051008 (2010).
• JT Scruggs. “Multi-Objective Nonlinear Control of Semiactive and Regenerative Systems.” Proceedings of the 30th American Control Conference, June, 2010.
• AA Taflanidis, JT Scruggs. “Performance measures and optimal design of structural systems under stochastic stationary excitation.” Structural Safety 32(5), 305-315 (2010).
• JT Scruggs. “Analysis and Synthesis of Self-Powered Structural Control with Imperfect Energy Storage.” Proceedings of the 29th American Control Conference, St. Louis, June 2009.
• AA Taflanidis, DC Angelides, JT Scruggs. “Simulation-based robust design of mass dampers for response mitigation of tension leg platforms.” Engineering Structures 31(4), 847-857 (2009).
• J Scruggs, P Jacob. “Harvesting Ocean Wave Energy.” Science 323(1518), 1176-1178 (2009).
• JT Scruggs. “An Optimal Stochastic Control Theory for Distributed Energy Harvesting Networks.” Journal of Sound and Vibration 320(4-5), 707-725 (2009).
• AA Taflanidis, JT Scruggs, JL Beck. “Probabilistically-robust nonlinear design of control systems for base isolated structures.” Journal of Structural Control & Health Monitoring 15(5), 697-719 (2008).
• AA Taflanidis, JT Scruggs, JL Beck. “Reliability-based performance objectives and probabilistic robustness in structural control applications.” ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 134(4), 291-301 (2008).
• JT Scruggs. “Multi-Objective Optimization of Regenerative Damping in Vibrating Structures.” Proceedings of the 27th American Control Conference, New York, NY, July 2007.
• JT Scruggs, AA Taflanidis, WD Iwan. “Nonlinear Stochastic Controllers for Semiactive and Regenerative Systems with Guaranteed Quadratic Performance Bounds: Part I- State Feedback Control.” Journal of Structural Control & Health Monitoring, 14(8), 1101-1120 (2007).
• JT Scruggs, AA Taflanidis, WD Iwan. “Nonlinear Stochastic Controllers for Semiactive and Regenerative Systems with Guaranteed Quadratic Performance Bounds: Part II-Output Feedback Control.” Journal of Structural Control & Health Monitoring, 14(8), 1121-1137 (2007).
• JT Scruggs, WD Iwan. “Optimal Non-Local and Asymmetric Linear Structural Damping with Regenerative Force Actuators.” ASCE J. Engineering Mechanics, 132(9), 932-940, (2006).
• JT Scruggs, AA Taflanidis, JL Beck. “Reliability-Based Control Optimization for Active Base Isolation Systems.” J. Structural Control & Health Monitoring, 13(2-3), 705-723, (2006).
• JT Scruggs, WD Iwan. “Structural Control with Regenerative Force Actuation Networks.” Journal of Structural Control & Health Monitoring, 12(1), 25-46, (2005).
• JT Scruggs, WD Iwan. “Control of a Civil Structure Using an Electric Machine with Semiactive Capability.” ASCE J. Structural Engineering, 129(7), 951-959, (2003).