NSF honors students with Graduate Research Fellowships in 2018

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The National Science Foundation is honoring six current or incoming 麻豆影院 mechanical engineering students with Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) awards and five students with honorable mentions. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees.

As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. The reputation of the GRFP follows recipients and often helps them become life-long leaders that contribute significantly to both scientific innovation and teaching.

View Other Fellowship and Scholarship Recipients

2018 Winners

Katherine Cummins

Advisor: Nicole Labbe
Lab:

Research: I use CHEMKIN simulations to study the chemical kinetics of combustion and reacting flows in various systems like an engine. This provides better understanding of the complex chemistry associated with specific fuels and environments and helps predict important system parameters such as ignition delay. In the future I hope to combine the chemistry and physics of combustion to better predict the performance of alternative jet fuels in a variety of conditions.

Mitch Fulton

Advisor: Mark Rentschler
Lab: Advanced Medical Technologies Laboratory

Research: My research is focused on the autonomous navigation of robots in deformable environments through visual feedback and the dynamic modeling/mapping of these environments. I plan to apply this research to medical devices and procedures.

Jaylene Martinez

Advisor: Yifu Ding
Lab: Nanostructured Polymer Lab (NPL)

Research: I will be working with Dr. Ding to develop a Super Tough Hydrogel (STH) for membrane usage and separation processes. STHs are incredibly different than your typical hydrogels; being much stronger and having an ability to withstand large amounts of pressure driven forces ultimately allowing us to utilize the hydrogel as a membrane for desalination and bio-filtration purposes.听

Skyler Kern

Advisor: Peter Hamlington
Lab:

Research: The climate is studied by performing simulations using earth system models (ESM). Current limitations in computational power restrict simulations from fully resolving all spatial and time scales relevant to the climate system. The smaller scales are parameterized in ESMs. My research currently focuses on improving these parameterizations by performing large eddy simulations (LES) of small scale dynamics. I am investigating the impact small scale and submesoscale turbulence has on biogeochemistry in the upper ocean. Improving our understanding of the coupling between ocean dynamics and biogeochemical tracer evolution will lead to better parameterizations and more accurate results from ESMs.

Mike Meehan

Advisor: Peter Hamlington
Lab:

Research: The goal of my research is to analyze turbulent reacting flows using computational fluid dynamics to produce better reduced order models. I primarily use modal decompositions, such as proper orthogonal decomposition, to examine the flow. In the future, we plan to implement these techniques on interacting bluff-body stabilized flames to improve propulsion systems and decrease emissions generated from unburnt hydrocarbons.

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Vani Sundaram

Major: Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Mark Rentschler and Alena Grabowski
Lab: Applied Biomechanics Laboratory.听

Research: As a new CU 麻豆影院 student, I am currently figuring out a way of merging the topics covered at the Advanced Medical Technologies Laboratory and at the Applied Biomechanics Lab to create projects focused around lower limb prostheses. Previously at the University of Pittsburgh, I conducted a slip study with the goal of testing the fluid drainage capacity of shoes to understand when worn shoes should be replaced to prevent slipping accidents. In addition to human subject testing, we focused on developing a new experimental apparatus for measuring under-shoe fluid pressures. The results of this study are expected to indicate the level of shoe wear that increases the risks of slipping, and in turn, we predict that this will lead to modifications in shoe replacement procedures.

2018 Honorable Mentions

Roy Anderson

Advisor: Wei Tan

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