Spring 2021 Newsletter
VOL. 5, ISSUE 2
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Message from the Chair
As we approach the end of the 2020-2021 academic year, we are pleased to report on various Department activities in this Spring edition of our Newsletter. Faculty, staff, and students have been busy with instruction, learning, research and scholarly work, and community engagement. Faculty and students in our senior labs and capstone program have been meeting in-person on campus. Our fabrication facilities have been open for safe operations. Many of our Faculty and students have been coming to campus regularly to pursue research and scholarly activities. Staff have been coming to campus regularly as well. The Department held a successful virtual Fall 2020 Design Day in December showcasing 17 projects. Student Teams from the Department will showcase 38 projects, including several interdisciplinary projects, at the College of Engineering virtual Design Day on May 5. The Department is grateful to the external and internal sponsors of these projects for their support. Please see links below to Design Day and plan to join us to celebrate the accomplishments of our students. Some of the students from the graduating class of 2021 are featured in this Newsletter. I am pleased to report that a capstone project team, participating in the NASA Moon to Mars Ice Prospecting Challenge competition, has been selected as one of 9 finalists from around the country. Our graduate (MS, PhD) programs are seeing large increases in applications this year on the heels of a large growth in the Ph.D. program in the last three years. Accomplishments of some of our graduate students are featured below. Department Faculty have been active in securing large and prestigious external grants, including an NSF CAREER grant, in support of scholarly activities and discovery. Their work has received recognition through prestigious awards and features on cover pages of high-impact journals.
Summer session classes start toward the end of May, with several of them to be held in-person. In Fall 2021, we look forward to welcoming a new Freshman class and a fresh cohort of transfer students to campus and we are making plans for mostly in-person offering of classes. I hope you enjoy reading this Newsletter. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions, and I hope you will plan to visit us on campus once we reopen for in-person activities soon.
Sincerely,
John Abraham, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
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Approximately 250 students are expected to graduate with a BSME degree in academic year 2020-2021. Featured below are four of our highest achieving graduates. |
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Venezia has served in leadership positions in student organizations such as Quality of Life+ (QL+) and Society of Women Engineers (SWE). She also participated in an internship at the Industrial Assessment Center, under the supervision of Drs. Asfaw Beyene, Professor of Mechanical
Engineering and Joaquin Camacho, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering...Read More
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Daniel Elerding is a fourth year Mechanical Engineering student graduating this May 2021. Daniel has been involved in student organizations such as ASME and Tau Beta Pi while at SDSU. In Fall 2020, Daniel interned at Ascent Inc, an HVAC firm where he functioned as an Associate Sales Engineer...Read More
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Senior Design Project Team Selected as Finalist in NASA Moon to Mars Prospecting Challenge |
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After a rigorous selection process, NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announced that San Diego State University was among nine teams from universities across the nation named as finalists for the 2021 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts — Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Special Edition: Moon to Mars Ice & Prospecting Challenge. The interdisciplinary Team consists of Matthew Gonzalez (ME), David Bunson (ME), Krysta Rhodes (ME), Jesus Figueroa (ME), Jonathan Maravilla (ECE), Alan Clemenson (ECE), Brandon Mosburg (ECE), Ryan Marmion (ECE), and Humood Alghunaim (ECE), with Dr. Scott Shaffar, the Senior Design Project Instructor, as their Advisor...Read More
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Senior Design Team in Collaboration with Ellsworth Air Force Base created a wind-proof trash can device |
The ME 490 Senior Design team, in collaboration with Ellsworth Air Force Base, created “Gust”. The whole device is 3D printed and will keep a trash can lid closed as long as it is not tipped completely upside down...Read More
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Two ME Seniors Contributed to Work on Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover |
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ME senior Krysta Rhodes (pictured above) interned at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab from January to July 2020. Krysta's specific work was on the Mars Sample Return mission as the Perseverance Rover was actually shipped off from JPL during her first few weeks at JPL. Mars Sample Return is the next step in Perseverance's mission to bring samples back to Earth, and she was primarily focusing on different mechanisms that could be used to launch those samples from Mars and bring them home to Earth. |
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ME senior Max Umland (pictured above) has been an intern at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory since Summer 2017. One aspect Max assisted with was overnight thermal testing of microphone and video components that will be on the skycrane system. This will aide in recording the footage of the rover landing on Mars. He also contributed work in preparing the sample tubes that will be returned to Earth at some point.
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Pictured: Shruthi Dasappa (left) and Dr. Joaquin Camacho (right) working in the FANS Lab |
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Shruthi Dasappa, PhD Candidate, awarded support for an internship at Argonne National lab through the NSF INTERN program |
Shruthi Dasappa is a PhD Candidate working in the Flames, Aerosols and NanoScience Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Joaquin Camacho, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Shruthi was awarded support for an internship at Argonne National lab through the NSF INTERN program...Read More
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MSME Student Brandon Bethers received NSF travel grant to attend two professional conferences |
Brandon Bethers, an MSME Student in the Additive Manufacturing & Advanced Materials Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Yang Yang, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received a National Science Foundation travel grant to attend the co-located 49th NAMRI/SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC 49) and the 2021 ASME International Manufacturing Science and Engineering virtual Conference (MSEC 2021) hosted by the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 21-25, 2021.
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Ph.D. Student Alexander Bertino awarded Best Student Paper at the 2020 Dynamic Systems and Control Conference |
Alexander Bertino, a Ph.D. Student, who works under the supervision of Dr. Peiman Naseradinmousavi in the Dynamic Systems and Control Lab was awarded the Best Student Paper at the 2020 Dynamic Systems and Control Conference for his paper titled, "Experimental and Analytical Decentralized Adaptive Control of a 7-DOF Robot Manipulator"
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ME Seniors Showcase their Capstone Program Projects |
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Fall 2020 Senior Design Day |
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Our Fall 2020 Senior Design Day was held on December 10, 2020 in Montezuma Hall. 17 projects were showcased at the event. The virtual experience included interactions with the team members in virtual rooms. The teams employed posters, videos and slide presentations to enhance the experience. The projects were sponsored by industry, non-profit organizations, and Faculty. You can view the projects that were demonstrated at our Fall 2020 Senior Design Day here!
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Please join us for the Spring 2021 Virtual Engineering Design Day! |
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The College of Engineering's Virtual Engineering Design Day will be held on May 5, 2021. Design Day showcases the exciting and innovative design projects that our undergraduate Engineering students conceive, design and build during the academic year. For more information, please visit the College of Engineering Design Day webpage.
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Dr. Kee Moon and Dr. Joaquin Camacho showcase their Teams' Big Ideas in Short Films |
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Two ME Faculty-led Teams were among the 16 Teams who presented their Big Ideas through Short Films for Big Ideas as part of the Big Ideas initiative. Dr. Kee Moon, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, led a Team which includes ME Faculty Colleagues Drs. Sungbum (John) Kang and Sung-Yong (Sean) Park, Assistant Professors of Mechanical Engineering, to propose a transformative idea to develop a Digital Platform for Lung Health. Dr. Joaquin Camacho, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, led a Team which includes ME Faculty Colleagues Drs. Sungbum (John) Kang, Sung-Yong (Sean) Park, Wenwu Xu and Yang Yang, Assistant Professors of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr George Youssef, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, to propose their transformative idea on Trans-fracturing: Transforming Manufacturing with 3D printing. The Chair of the Big Ideas Steering Committee is Dr. Karen May-Newman, Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Further details about the proposals, and the videos, may be found at the links given.
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FACULTY AWARDS & RECOGNITION |
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Dr. Sean Park received CAREER grant for $500,000 |
Dr. Park has received a $500,000 grant from NSF CAREER grant for his work on Optofluidic Solar Indoor Lighting Towards Sustainable Buildings. The objective of this project is to develop an optofluidic solar indoor lighting (OFSIL) system that can make full use of rooftop solar energy not only for interior illumination of buildings with active control of lighting power, but for other indoor solar activities such as indoor farming and photovoltaic generation.
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Dr. Eugene Olevsky received $150,000 grant from the Department of Defense, US Army
This grant is to support Dr. Olevsky's research on Advanced Sintering Processing Techniques for Consolidation of Novel Nanocrystalline Metals & Ceramics.
Dr. Olevsky is the recipient of the 2021 TMS Materials Processing and Manufacturing Division Distinguished Scientist/Engineer Award.
This award recognizes an individual who has made long-lasting contributions to: design, syntheses, processing and performance of engineering materials, with significant industrial applications.
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Dr. Kevin Wood received $177,000 grant from Hell's Kitchen Geothermal LLC
This grant is part of a California Energy Commission project focused on improving production and flexibility of existing geothermal facilities. Specifically, this work will demonstrate the economic viability of capturing valuable waste products from geothermal brines ( e.g lithium and silica). SDSU was funded as part of a team working to develop a novel method for removing these valuable products so they can be further utilized rather than just become waste. This work is in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) and Hell’s Kitchen Geothermal, LLC (Controlled Thermal Resources).
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Dr. Zahra Nili Ahmadabadi awarded $25,000 from AFSOR
Dr. Nili Ahmadabadi received a $25,000 award from AFSOR for her research on intelligent cooperative robotic systems for uncertain environments.
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Dr. Bhalla was invited to present work on Multiphase modeling, control and optimization of wave energy converter devices" in the SoCal Fluids seminar
The SoCal Fluids seminar is a consortium of fluid dynamics researchers from the Southern California universities (SDSU, Caltech, UC SD/I/R/SB/LA, USC)
Dr. Bhalla given courtesy appointment as Associate Graduate Faculty Professor in the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University.
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Dr. Katira received the Outstanding Leadership in Engineering Award from the San Diego County Engineering Council
Dr. Katira and UCSD researchers discovered a common fundamental mechanism enabling cell migration away from the host tumor and subsequent metastasis...Read More
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Dr. Peiman Naseradinmousavi was the recipient of the 2021 John J. Gallen Memorial Award. Instituted in 1977, this prestigious award recognizes outstanding younger graduates of Villanova University's College of Engineering.
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Scholarly Articles featured on Covers of Journals |
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Dr. Parag Katira's research featured on front cover of APL Bioengineering |
Dr. Katira, along with colleagues from University of California, San Diego, had their research regarding the computational models of cancer and some interesting paradoxes related to cancer progression highlighted on the cover of APL Bioengineering.
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Dr. Yang Yang's research featured in Advanced Functional Materials Journal |
Dr. Yang, along with colleagues from Arizona State University and the University of Southern California, had their research titled, "Limpet Tooth‐Inspired Painless Microneedles Fabricated by Magnetic Field‐Assisted 3D Printing" featured as the 'Inside Back Cover' of the journal of Advanced Functional Materials. This work opens intriguing perspectives for designing microneedles with sharp features and excellent mechanical strength based on bioinspired hierarchical structures.
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Dr. George Youssef's research featured in Advanced Functional Materials Journal |
Nha Uyen Huynh, Ph.D. Candidate in the Engineering Mechanics Laboratory, and Dr. George Youssef were co-authors along with colleagues from the College of Science on an article featured on the 'Inside Back Cover' of the journal Advanced Functional Materials. The article entitled "Aciniform Spider Silk: Hydration‐Induced β‐Sheet Crosslinking of α‐Helical‐Rich Spider Prey‐Wrapping Silk" present a remarkable fiber cross‐linking property for aciniform spider silk as a response to hydration. This hierarchical process is facilitated by hydration with an observed increase in β‐sheet structure that assists fiber fusion. Aciniform silk nanofibers have novel hydration‐induced structural transitions that should provide inspiration for next‐generation biomaterials."
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Spotlight on Two Student Organizations: ASME and QL+ |
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American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The majority of the activities ASME is involved with have been transitioned to a virtual platform via Zoom. This year the club has two project teams, involved in the Student Design Competition (SDC) and the Human Powered Vehicle Competition (HPVC)...Read More
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Quality of Life+
This year, the club took on the challenge of accomplishing two virtual travel work projects from the national organization: the manufacturing of an adaptive bicycle handlebar, and the renovation of a wheelchair to a hockey sled transfer device...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 | Mechanical Engineering | College of...
The Department is the vibrant home to about 1400 undergraduate and graduate students, several active and award-winning student clubs and organizations, multiple teaching and research laboratories, internationally-renowned faculty who are...
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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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