Profiles of Assistant Professors

Profiles and Research of

21 Assistant Professors in

Mechanical Engineering at

Texas A&M University Updated in September 2010

Dr. Debjyoti Banerjee Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2005 – present Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 1999

Research interests: • Multi-phase flows and heat transfer — Micro/nano-thermocouples, carbon nanotubes, silicon nano-fins — Computational fluid dynamics, molecular dynamics, fractals/ chaos — Nano-fluids, nano-fluidics, nano-synthesis, nano-manufacturing, materials characterization — Solar energy • Emerging technologies — Microfluidics and LOC (lab-on-chip), nano/bio-technologies, DPN (dip pen nanolithography), MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems), nano-sensors for explosives detection Selected current projects: • Flow boiling measurements using micro/nano-thermocouples • Pool boiling measurements on nanofins • Nanofluids for solar energy applications • Synthesis of carbon nanotubes with a single chirality using DPN • Lab-on-chip for health monitoring, water quality monitoring using peptide assay • Microfluidic synthesis of lipid bilayers, fountain pen nanolithography • Reconfigurable microfluidic device for realizing photonic bandgap crystals (negative refractive index materials)

Dr. Xinghang Zhang Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2005 – present Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 2001 Research interests: • Radiation tolerant nanostructured materials (multilayers, coatings and bulk materials) • Mechanical properties of metallic films and multilayers • Microstructure analysis by various microscopy techniques (high- resolution TEM, STEM) • Thin film stress and strain • Physical (thermal, electrical and magnetic) properties of films and multilayers • Phase transformations in nanostructured thin films • Bulk nanostructured materials by severe plastic deformation Selected current projects: • Radiation tolerant nanostructured materials (multilayer films, coatings and bulk materials) • Mechanical and electrical properties of metallic films with high-density nanoscale growth twins • Magnetic shape memory alloy thin films • Bulk nanostructured metals

Dr. Bing Guo Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2006 – present Ph.D., Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 1998 Research interests: • Nanoparticle formation in combustion • Synthesis of nanomaterials by flame aerosol methods • Application of nanomaterials in energy and environment • Safety of engineered nanomaterials • Aerosol sampling, collection and identification Selected current projects: • Magnetic core-shell & Janus functional nanoparticles • Biological effects of carbon black and Fe2O3 nanoparticles • Gas sensors made of functional nanomaterials • Bioaerosol sampling and detection • Computation fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of aerosol flows

Dr. Bryan Rasmussen Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2006 – present Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, 2005

Research interests: • Dynamic modeling and control of thermo-fluid energy systems (HVAC) • Modeling and control of alternative energy systems (solar hydrogen, clean coal, bio-mass gasifiers) • Model reduction, model validation, automated modeling • Nonlinear control, robust control Selected current projects: • Model-based control and diagnostics for CO2 vapor compression systems • Reduced order dynamic models of vapor compression systems • Decentralized Model Predictive Control for HVAC system networks • Real-time robust model validation and model tuning algorithms • Educational mechatronic/control projects using Nintendo Wii

Dr. Miladin Radovic Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2006 – present Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 2001 Research interests: • High temperature materials for energy applications • Processing of advanced ceramic materials • Characterization and modeling of mechanical properties of ceramic and metallic materials • Reliability and durability of ceramic materials and components • Processing and characterization of materials for fuel cells • Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy Selected current projects: • Thermo-mechanical properties of ionic conductors • Processing and characterization of geopolymers • Processing and characterization of MAX phases

Dr. Raymundo Arróyave Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2006 – present Ph.D., Materials Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2004 Research interests: • Metallic and ceramic alloys • High temperature materials development • Interfacial phenomena • Computational thermodynamics and kinetics of materials • Ab initio methods • Alloy theory Selected current projects: • Prediction of thermo-mechanical properties of high temperature materials via ab initio methods • Modeling of interfacial interactions between lead free solders and metallic substrates • Simulation of thermodynamics, kinetics and microstructural evolution in light metal alloys • Ab initio simulation, thermodynamic modeling and design of novel shape memory alloys • Modeling of thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen storage in multi-layer nano-films

Dr. Timothy Jacobs Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2006 – present Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2005

Research interests: • IC engine combustion and emission formation fundamentals • Novel modes of combustion for diesel engines • Exhaust after treatment systems for diesel engines Selected current projects: • Nitric oxide formation in biodiesel combustion • Performance and system response of diesel engine with biodiesel fuels • Natural gas homogenous charge compression ignition combustion development • Diesel low temperature combustion / premixed charge compression ignition combustion development

Dr. Cris Schwartz Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2006 – present Ph.D., Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 2006

Research interests: • Polymers and composites tribology • Orthopedic devices • Biomaterials • Haptics and tactile sensation of materials • Design and innovation methodology Selected current projects: • Development of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene composites for industrial and biomedical applications • Correlation of material tactility with quantifiable mechanical and physical properties for haptic design • Development of strategies to improve the tribological behavior of polymers and composites • Design and optimization of polymer-based materials for therapeutic biomedical applications • Development and assessment of a computational tool for enhanced productivity during conceptual design

Dr. Choongho Yu Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2007 – present Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, TX, 2004

Research interests: • Thermoelectric energy conversion • Photo-thermal and photovoltaic energy conversion • Thermal managements Selected current projects: • Investigation and synthesis of new nanostructured materials including nanowires, nanotubes, nanoparticles, nanostructure embedded composites, polymer nanocomposites, and metal oxides for thermoelectric and photovoltaic energy conversion systems • Measurements of thermal and electrical transport properties of various nanostructures, thin films, and polymer nanocomposites • Synthesis and characterization of nanocomposite materials for the thermal management of heat dissipating devices and systems

Dr. Sy-Bor Wen Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2007 – present Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2006

Research interests: • Laser processing with ultrahigh speed pulsed laser • Chemical analysis with laser induced plasma • High speed imaging and temperature measurement with pulsed laser • Nanomaterial generation with laser ablation • Nanoscale conductive and radiative energy transport Selected current projects: • Simulation of nanoparticle generation from high temperature plasma • Simulation of laser material interaction in submircon range • Thermal analysis for nano-optical devices • Generation of multilayer multicomponent nanoparticles with laser ablations • Direct nanoscale fabrication and detection with nanoscale laser ablation

Dr. Andrew Duggleby Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2008 – present Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 2006 Research interests: • Turbulent transport of mass, momentum, and heat in fluids and plasmas using high performance computational diagnostics and mathematical analysis • Turbulent pipe flows (Direct Numerical Simulation) • Large-scale gas turbine engines simulations • Spatiotemporal chaos (Rayleigh-Benard convection, mixing) • Multiphysics flows (weld pools, multi-phase) • Turbulence in fusion plasmas Selected current projects: • LES of gas turbine endwall cooling • Buoyancy driven turbulence control by initial conditions • Mixing in low Reynolds number flows • Large-scale structures in turbulent pipe flows

Dr. Julie Linsey Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2008 – present Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, TX, 2007

Research interests: • Engineering design theory and methods • Engineering innovation and creativity • Conceptual design and design by analogy • Design cognition • Engineering education • Design-by-analogy Selected current projects: • SGER: Collaborative Research: VisualizeIT - Measuring the impact of IT-enabled concept generation on designer creativity • Creating and teaching a methodology for global multidisciplinary distributed design: dDesign • Physical representations in engineering design • Idea generation methods for globally distributed virtual teams • Development of design-by-analogy methods

Dr. Aaron Ames Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2008 – present Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2006 Research interests: Dynamical, control, robotic and hybrid systems, with a special emphasis on bipedal robots, behavior unique to hybrid systems such as Zeno behavior and the mathematical foundations of hybrid systems Selected current projects: • Bipedal robotic walking — theory and practical applications • Control of prosthetic devices • Zeno behavior in hybrid systems

Dr. Kalyana Nakshatrala Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2009 – present Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, 2007, IL, 2007

Research interests: • Computational and theoretical aspects of heterogeneous porous media • Stabilized finite elements for flow and solid mechanics problems • Nonlinear finite elements, domain decomposition techniques for transient problems • High performance computing • Computational mechanics Selected current projects: • Modeling and numerical techniques for flow through deformable porous media • Numerical simulation of various processes in carbon sequestration and enhanced oil recovery • Numerical formulations for non-Newtonian fluid models • Development of robust numerical algorithms to solve coupled problems (fluid-structure interaction, deformation-transport)

Dr. Devesh Ranjan Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2009 – present Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 2007

Research interests: • Experimental fluid mechanics (hydrodynamic instabilities) • Turbulent mixing and supersonic combustion • Shock tube applications • Experimental thermal hydraulics and laser diagnostics • Shock wave lithotripsy • Inertial confinement fusion Selected current projects: • Detailed measurements of turbulent Rayleigh-Taylor and shock-driven mixing • Study of supercritical fluid thermal hydraulics • Turbulence by design • Fundamental study of turbomachinery, heat transfer and materials issues associated with supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycles • Development of a convergent shock focusing system

Dr. Sivakumar Rathinam Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2009 – present Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2007

Research interests: • Motion planning and control of unmanned vehicles • Collaborative decision making • Vision based control • Air traffic control Selected current projects: • Approximation algorithms for the routing of heterogeneous robots with motion constraints • Conflict detection and resolution algorithms for aircraft • Algorithms for runway scheduling at airports

Dr. David Staack Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2009 – present Ph.D., Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 2008

Research interests: • Non-thermal plasmas • Micro- and nano-scale plasmas • Electric propulsion for spacecraft • Novel plasma processing and materials synthesis • Plasma enhanced fuel conversion and combustion • Biomedical plasma applications • Laser and spectroscopic diagnostics Selected current projects: • Efficient methane conversion to higher hydrocarbons using non-equilibrium plasmas • COx polymer synthesis for CO2 dissociation and sequestration • Plasma enhanced surface sterilization and wound healing • Plasma technology for control of seed-borne diseases • Non-thermal mechanisms of electrical breakdown in liquids • Micro- and nano- scale plasma discharges for highly localized chemical change • Optical emission spectroscopy of femtoliter volume analytes • Microscale dense plasma focus fusion device

Dr. Yong-Joe Kim Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2009 – present Ph.D., Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2003

Research interests: • Acoustics and applied signal processing • Sound field visualization based on array signal processing • Identification of aeroacoustic noise mechanisms (e.g., jet noise and fan noise) • Noise and vibration control • Ultrasonic wave propagation in composite structures • Dynamic characteristics of multiscale electromechanical systems Selected current projects: • Visualization of nonlinear acoustic disturbances • Design of acoustically-optimized honeycomb panels • Structural health monitoring of composite structures • Detection and tracking of multiple, transient noise sources

Dr. Nicole Zacharia Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2009 – present Ph.D., Materials Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2007 Research interests: • Responsive soft and colloidal materials • Biomimetic properties such as self-healing and self-repair in thin films • Polyelectrolyte multilayers and their properties • Soft lithographic and other patterning techniques • Colloidal systems, especially asymmetric particles such as Janus particles Selected current projects: • Patterning of polyelectrolyte multilayers for high surface area materials • Janus particles for emulsification and phase separation • Ionomer containing multilayers for self-healing materials

Dr. Richard Malak Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2009 – present Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 2008

Research interests: • Principles, methods, and tools for systems modeling and decision making • Predictive modeling in engineering systems design • Modeling, simulation, and optimization under uncertainty • Mathematically rigorous methods in systems design • Computational thinking applied to design processes and methods • Design of cyber-physical systems Selected current projects: • Investigation of mathematical representations of new and risky technologies to promote design innovation • Efficient methods for multi-level system optimization using parameterized dominance analysis and predictive modeling • Novel methods for combined plant-controller optimization • Compositional optimization

Dr. Molly Gentleman Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, 2010 – present Ph.D., Materials, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 2006 Research interests: • Coatings and surface technologies for dewetting and antifouling applications • Thermal and environmental barrier coatings • Biomemetic coatings • Raman spectroscopy of inorganic materials Selected current projects: • Durable superhydrophobic coatings for harsh environments • Inorganic coatings for biointegration • Materials design for next generation environmental barrier coatings

41 Other Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty by Division

Fall 2010

Division of Materials and Manufacturing Professor Hartwig, K. Ted Liang, Helen (Promoted in fall 2010) (on leave) Sue, Hung-Jue

Associate Professor Creasy, Terry Griffin, Richard (at TAMU-Q) Grunlan, Jaime (Promoted in fall 2010) Karaman, Ibrahim

Division of Mechanics and Design Professor Bowen, Ray (Sara and John H. Lindsey ’44 Chair Professor) Ochoa, Ozden Rajagopal, K. (Forsyth Chair Professor) Reddy, J.N. (Wyatt Chair Professor) Srinivasa, Arun (Promoted in fall 2010)

Associate Professor Gao, Xin-Lin Hogan, Harry Muliana, Anastasia (Promoted in fall 2010) Suh, Steve

Division of Systems and Controls Professor Childs, Dara (Jordan Chair Professor) Palazzolo, Alan Darbha, Swaroop Parlos, Alexander Jayasuriya, Suhada (on leave) San Andrés, Luis Langari, Reza

Associate Professor Kim, Won-jong McAdams, Dan

Division of Thermal and Fluid Sciences Professor Anand, N.K. (Executive Associate Dean) Lau, S.C. (Graduate Program Director) Andrews, Malcolm (on leave) Morrison, Gerald Annamalai, Kalyan O'Neal, Dennis (Head) Caton, Jerald (Associate Head) Pate, Michael Claridge, David Schobeiri, M. Taher Han, J.C. (Chair Professor) Turner, W. Dan Handler, Robert

Associate Professor Heffington, Warren Lalk, Tom Petersen, Eric