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Fall 2021 Newsletter
VOL. 6, ISSUE 1
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Message from the Chair
After more than a year of mostly remote instruction and learning, it has been exciting for Faculty and students to attend classes in person again with COVID safety protocols in place. It has been even more gratifying to see Faculty, Staff, and students follow the safety protocols and demonstrate a genuine concern for the SDSU community. This Newsletter highlights several accomplishments of our students and Faculty during the last several months. A senior design project team was selected as one of ten finalists from around the country in the NASA Moon to Mars Ice Prospecting Challenge competition. The team showcased their design to NASA in Virginia in September. Another senior design project team won first place in the 3D printed aircraft competition held in Arlington, Texas. The Department has a received a gift of $150,000 to from Dr. Richard Woodcock in support of promoting innovation in the capstone program. The Newsletter features two of our recent outstanding Ph.D. graduates. Faculty have continued to maintain a high level of scholarly productivity and gain recognition through awards, publication of textbooks, and by attracting external resources in support of their research programs.
Sincerely,
John Abraham, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
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Dr. Richard Woodcock Makes $300,000 Donation to College of Engineering
Dr. Richard Woodcock has made a gift of $300,000 to the College of Engineering with $150,000 targeted to support innovation and patent applications in the Mechanical Engineering capstone program, $100,000 to support Aztec Electric Racing, and $50,000 to support the Rocket Project. Read More...
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Spring 2021 Design Day Recap |
157 Mechanical Engineering students showcased 38 projects at the Spring 2021 Design Day in May. Two of these projects had patent applications in process. One of the projects was selected by NASA in the national collegiate Moon to Mars Ice Prospecting Challenge competition. 25 of the projects were supported by external sponsors and the rest by internal sponsors. 9 of the projects also had participation from Electrical and Computer Engineering students as part of the effort to grow interdisciplinary projects. One project also included collaboration with the School of Art & Design. Several projects benefitted from collaboration with the Fowler College of Business. To see all the projects that were showcased, please visit the Spring 2021 Design Day webpage.
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NASA Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge Finalists Showcase their Design in Hampton, Virginia |
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One of the Mechanical Engineering senior design project teams was one of ten finalists in the NASA Moon to Mars Ice and Prospecting Challenge competition. This project was interdisciplinary involving both mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering students. It was supported by Collins Aerospace. The team of 10 ME and ECE students developed a unique solution to mine and extract water on Mars. They showcased their design at the competitions involving the ten finalists in Hampton, Virginia.
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Pictured: ME Team, along with other competitors and spectators from the 3DPAC Competition in Arlington, Texas.
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ME Senior Design Project Team Takes 1st Place in 3DPAC Competition |
The ME “Flying Fish” Senior Design project team took first place at the University of Texas at Arlington, 3D Printed Aircraft Competition! The team took first place in both the “Altair Most Innovative Design” and they “Longest Duration Flight” events. These were the two categories that made up the competition.
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Fall 2021 ME Senior Design Day
The Fall 2021 ME Senior Design Day will be held in person on December 9, 2021. 15 project teams will be showcasing their exciting and innovative design projects that our undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students conceive, design and build during the academic year. If you will be joining us, we ask that you please wear a mask at all times as well as fill out the Vaccine Attestation Form.
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Freaturing Recent Ph.D. Graduates |
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Dr. Scott Newacheck, recently graduated from the Mechanical Engineering department at San Diego State University with a Masters degree and a Ph.D. He first attained a Master of Science while conducting research at the Experimental Mechanics Laboratory studying under Dr. George Youssef, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, then continued by enrolling in the Joint Doctoral Program. Read More...
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Pictured: Dr. Scott Newacheck (left) at his graduation with his Ph.D. Adviser, Dr. George Youssef, Professor of Mechanical Engineering |
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Pictured: Dr. Shruthi Dasappa (right) with her Ph.D. Adviser, Dr. Joaquin Camacho, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering |
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Dr. Shruthi Dasappa is a graduating PhD in the Mechanical Engineering Department. She joined the Joint Doctoral Program at SDSU and UCSD in Fall 2017 under the guidance of Prof. Joaquin Camacho. Her dissertation is titled, “Fundamentals of gas-to-particle conversion for nanoparticle synthesis in flames”. Her research has been focused on studying the carbon and manganese oxide nanoparticle synthesis in flames. Read More...
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Ph.D. Students Receive Awards at the National Congress on Computational Mechanics |
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Ramakrishnan Thirumalaisamy (right) and Kaustubh Khedkar (left), Ph.D. students working in the Computational Flow Physics Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Amneet Bhalla, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received conference awards at the 16th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics conference award at the congress held in Chicago (July 25 - 29, 2021). Ramakrishnan presented a novel approach to impose Neumann and Robin boundary conditions on complex geometries in a fictitious domain framework. Kaustubh presented a novel method to implement a real-time control strategy within fully-resolved computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of wave energy converter (WEC) devices. Read More about their research...
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First Experimental Demonstration of Prescribed-Time Controller on Baxter Robot |
Ph.D. student, Alexander Bertino, working under the supervision of Dr. Peiman Naseradinmousavi, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, in the Dynamic Systems and Controls Laboratory, conducted the first experimental demonstration of prescribed-time stabilization in robotics.
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ME Senior Selected to Participate in Toyota Dream
Endowment Program
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Joseph Dawisha, an ME Senior, was recently selected to participate in the Toyota Dream Endowment program. The program targets for students of diverse ethnic backgrounds, with excellent academic background and social skills, who are interested in a career in the automotive industry and motorsports. Read More...
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Dr. Elisa Torresani awarded TMS-AIME
Champion H. Mathewson Award
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The AIME (American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers) Champion H. Mathewson Award is presented by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) annually, and is considered an important career achievement. Dr. Elisa Torresani received the recognition for the significance of her article “Anisotropy of Mass Transfer During Sintering of Powder Materials with Pore–Particle Structure Orientation”. Read More...
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Dr. George Youssef authors new book on
Applied Mechanics of Polymers
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Elsevier Publishing is releasing a new book authored by Dr. George Youssef, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, entitled Applied Mechanics of Polymers: Properties, Processing, and Behavior. The target readership includes senior undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, researchers, and engineers in the mechanics of materials, polymer science, mechanical engineering, and material engineering.
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Dr. Kevin Wood gives TEDx talk and is featured in Wired Magazine |
Dr. Wood is working with his students on repurposing used electric vehicle batteries and developing novel strategies for next generation advanced battery systems. For his work on repurposing EV batteries Professor Wood was recently interviewed for a special in Wired magazine. The interview may be viewed at https://www.wired.com/story/batteries-cant-power-car-light-city/
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$1.8M NSF DMREF Grant Supports Sintering-Assisted
Additive Manufacturing Research
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Dr. Eugene Olevsky, Dean of the College of Engineering and Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, in collaboration with investigators at Clemson University, received a $1.8M award for their collaborative research on Accelerating the Adoption of Sintering-Assisted Additive Manufacturing Using Integrated Experiments, Theory, Simulation and Data Science. Dr. Sungbum (John) Kang and Dr. Elisa Torresani, both Assistant Professors of Mechanical Engineering, serve as Co-PI's on this project. Read More...
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Dr. Subrata Bhattacharjee receives $514K renewal grant for work on Residence-Time Driven Flame Spread in Microgravity from NASA
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Dr. Subrata Bhattacharjee, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded $514,000 by NASA for the project “Residence Time Driven Flame Spread in Microgravity (RTDFSM)”. The project aims to understand flame spread and mitigate fire danger in outer space. Read More...
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Recent NSF and Industrial Funding supports work in Experimental Mechanics Laboratory |
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NSF Grant to Study Auxetic Behavior of Elastomeric Foams
The Experimental Mechanics Laboratory, directed by Dr. George Youssef, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received a research award of $301K from the National Science Foundation (NSF, Award No. 2035663) to study the effect of density gradation and the auxetic behavior of elastomeric foams. This investigation will advance the state-of-the-art in biomechanical impact mitigation and protection, potentially eradicating concussion. Read More...
PPG Aerospace, Inc. Supports Work to Interrogate Multilayer Organo-Metallic Blanket Film Structures
Monolithic and multilayer organo-metallic blanket films provide several functionalities in several industrial sectors, including corrective glasses, structural windows, and aircraft transparencies. The Experimental Mechanics Laboratory received a research cooperative agreement from PPG Aerospace Inc. (the leading aircraft transparencies manufacturer) worth $35K to understand the interplay between the mechanical properties of the films and their mechanical performance. Read More...
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DOE Award supports work on Materials Research |
Dr. Eugene Olevsky (PI) and Dr. Wenwu Xu (Co-PI) have received a DOE award (DE-SC0022244) entitled "Tailoring Grain-Boundaries by Electro-Nano-Pulsing" with an amount of $467,000 for two years. The project will develop a transformative materials processing utilizing an intense nanopulsed electric current. It is expected that the proposed electro-nano-pulsing (ENP) processing will offer unprecedented ability to tailor grain boundaries (GBs) and interface structures in both metals and ceramics.
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NSF Award to support 3D Printing in Bioinspired Structures |
Dr. Yang Yang, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the Principal Investigator on a collaborative NSF grant of $386, 694 with Dr. Xiangjia Lai of Arizona State University as co-PI to investigate 3D Printing of Bioinspired Hierarchical Structures with Controllable Roughness for Stable and Long-term Air Retention. This grant will support fundamental research needed for the development of a multiscale additive manufacturing (AM) process that can selectively control the roughness and wettability of printed bioinspired hierarchical structures for stable and long-term air retention. Stable and long-term air retention is essential for numerous applications, including energy-efficient low friction fluid transport and drag reduction for ships, three-dimensional cell culture, oil pollution removal, de-icing, and underwater robotics.
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NSF Grant to support medical equipment work in Interface Design Lab |
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Over the summer, Assistant Professor Kevin Wood and his laboratory (the Interface Design Lab) received an NSF grant of $50K aimed at commercializing a product line of emergency use medical equipment The grant included project funding and specific business training for engineers to successfully pursue evidence-based entrepreneurship.
Through the training program, the Interface Design Lab was given the “best business pitch” award. One branch of the Interface Design Laboratory is now focused on FDA approval and working to create new emergency medical devices. For more information, check out this video!
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Dr. Elisa Torresani Co-PI on Collaborative NASA – MUREP Grant Advancing Regolith-related Technologies and Education |
The funding of $444, 000 for the project advances research capabilities at two HSI (NMSU, SDSU) in support of the NASA Artemis program with a focus on enhancing diversity and inclusion.
MUREP Advancing Regolith-Related Technologies and Education (MARTE) is a collaborative initiative created by a multidisciplinary group of faculty at New Mexico State University (NMSU) and San Diego State University (SDSU). NASA has awarded $444,000 to the project. Read More...
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Six projects have been selected to be finalists in the SDSU Big Ideas initiative. Among these six is a team led by Dr. Kee Moon, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, who will develop a transformative digital health platform that can monitor lung health status in real-time for large numbers of people, through innovative wireless sensors and rapid digital diagnosis and intervention. Dr. Sungbum (John) Kang, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Sung-Yong Park, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, are part of the diverse team of 15 Faculty. Dr. Asfaw Beyene, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Joaquin Camacho, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, are members of another team selected to be a finalist: AZTEC: Advancing Zero-fossil Technologies for Engineered Carbon
Dr. Karen May-Newman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the Chair of the Big Ideas Steering Committee.
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Dr. Yang Yang, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, serves as Guest Editor of the journal "Materials" for the special issue "Design and Manufacturing of Bioinspired Material and Structures". Dr. Yang also serves as a Guest Editor in the journal "Micromachines" for the special issue "Advances in Piezoelectric Sensors, Transducers and Harvesters".
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WE- BELIEVE Summer Internship Program Prepares Students to Develop Their Identities as Engineers |
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Dr. Karen May-Newman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, led a new summer internship program in the College of Engineering for freshmen, sophomores and transfer students called WE-BELIEVE (WomEn and Black Empowered Learners Interning in Engineering EnVironmEnts). Dr. Zahra Nili Ahmadabadi and Dr. Elisa Torresani, Assistant Professors of Mechanical Engineering, served as Faculty mentors in the program. The program combined a mentored research experience with professional development activities to engage students with the college and develop their identities as engineers. Read More...
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High School Students Engage in Scientific Literature Review/Discussions through Journal Club
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Dr. Parag Katira, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering (left), is collaborating with teachers Jesse Wade Robinson and Kalle Palmer from San Diego's High Tech High School to engage high school juniors in a monthly journal club. The club had their first event on November 18 where ME faculty and graduate students, including Computational Sciences graduate student Esteban Vazquez-Hidalgo (right), guided research article discussions with the high school juniors. Read More...
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Aztec Racing Formula SAE Team is to promote collegiate education through the design, manufacturing and marketing of a small, open wheel race car. The cars are built with a team effort in under one year and are taken to the annual Formula SAE in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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Baja SAE team consists of 35+ members who are challenged every school year to design, test, and build a single seat off road buggy that will compete in 3 nation-wide events where 100 global universities are evaluated in static and dynamic events.
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The Mechatronics Club consists of 40 members who are developing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for the 2019 RoboSub Competition.
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Aztec Electric Racing, commonly referred to as AER, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, electric Formula SAE team at SDSU. They design, build, and race a small-scale, high performance race car each year.
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ASME Club sponsors workshops, tours and guest speakers to prepare students for a career in the field of Mechanical Engineering.
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Our mission is to promote the education of our members by supporting academic and professional excellence, and innovative research.
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Quality of Life + brings together America's brightest engineering students at leading universities nationwide to create life-transforming assistive technology for our country's injured and ill heroes. Their mission is to foster and generate innovations that aid and improve the quality of life for those who have served our country.
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From the Baja Car to Senior Capstone Projects to Scholarship support, your generous giving makes a tremendous difference for our students. Please consider making a gift to support the Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Welcome to Mechanical Engineering!
The Department is the vibrant home to about 1200 undergraduate and graduate students, several active and award-winning student clubs and organizations, multiple teaching and research laboratories, internationally-renowned faculty who are...
Read more
mechanical.sdsu.edu
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San Diego State University | Mechanical Engineering |
5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-1323
619-594-7050 | me@engineering.sdsu.edu
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