Four engineering faculty chosen to Next Research Leaders Program cohort
Four College of Engineering faculty - Brittany Duncan, associate professor, School of Computing; Santosh Pitla, associate professor, Biological Systems Engineering; Jian Wang, professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering; and Hongfeng Yu, associate professor, School of Computing - are among 15 University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty members who have been selected to participate in the second cohort of the Office of Research and Economic Development's Research Leaders Program. This initiative to identify and develop Nebraska's next generation of research leaders is in partnership with the Center for Professional and Executive Development in the College of Business.
Six engineering faculty named to second NGTC cohort of fellows
Six faculty from the College of Engineering have been selected to be included among the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center's second cohort of faculty fellows:
- Srivatsan Kidambi, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering
- Francisco Munoz-Arriola, associate professor of biological systems engineering
- Michael Sealy, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering
- Bonita Sharif, associate professor of computer science and engineering
- Cody Stolle, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility and research assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering
- Li Zhao, postdoctoral research associate at Mid-America Transportation Center
Four engineering faculty chosen to university Grand Challenges steering committee
Four faculty from the College of Engineering have been chosen to the steering committee that has been assembled to guide the next steps of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Grand Challenges process, the Office of Research and Economic Development announced. Representing Nebraska Engineering on the committee will be:
- Mark Riley, associate dean for research
- Brittany Duncan, assistant professor of computer science and engineering
- Shane Farritor, professor of mechanical and materials engineering
- Angie Pannier, professor of biological systems engineering
Cui, team working on DOE grant to develop materials for gas turbines
Bai Cui, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering, is part of a research team that has earned a $700,000, 18-month Phase 1 Department of Energy Advance Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) ULTIMATE (Ultrahigh Temperature Impervious Materials Advancing Turbine Efficiency) grant.
ULTIMATE is a leading-edge DOE program to develop ultrahigh temperature materials for gas turbine use in the aviation and power generation industries. A total of $16 million in funding was announced for 17 research projects as part of Phase 1.
Cui's team, headquartered at West Virginia University and including collaborators from the National Energy Technology Laboratory and Advanced Manufacturing LLC, will develop a new class of ultra-high temperature Refractory Complex Concentrated Alloys-based Composites (RCCC) for high temperature applications such as combustion turbines used in the aerospace and energy industries. The RCCC will consist of Refractory Complex Concentrated Alloys (RCCA) mixed with nanosized particles of Refractory High Entropy Carbides, to increase RCCA strength to withstand extreme conditions.
The goal is to optimize the balance among strength, creep (deformation), density, and stability at 1300 °C (2372 °F), while maintaining ductility (malleability) once the alloy cools to room temperature. The research team will develop a specialty 3-D metal printing process to produce test coupons and real components such as turbine blades.
Cui's group, which includes research associate Fei Wang and graduate student Xin Chen, will use their expertise in materials for extreme environments when working at Nebraska's advanced manufacturing and high-temperature test facilities.
Fifteen engineering faculty promoted or granted tenure
Fifteen faculty from the College of Engineering were among the 109 University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty on the 2021 Promotion and Tenure List. The Nebraska Engineering faculty receiving the honors at 2021 Promotion and Tenure were:
Biological Systems Engineering
Troy Gilmore, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure (academic home is IANR)
Sibel Irmak, promotion to Full Research Professor (academic home is IANR)
Daran Rudnick, promotion to Associate Research Professor (academic home is IANR)
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Vitaly Alexandrov, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Wei Niu, Associate Professor Granted Tenure
Computer Science and Engineering
Justin Bradley, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Stephen Cooper, promotion to Full Professor
Brittany Duncan, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure (academic home is Arts & Sciences)
Suzette Person, promotion to Full Professor of Practice (academic home is Arts & Sciences)
Witiwas Srisa-an, promotion to Full Professor (academic home is Arts & Sciences
The Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction
Michelle Eble-Hankins , promotion to Associate Professor of Practice
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Christos Argyropoulos, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Master of Engineering Management program
Jena Asgarpoor, promotion to Full Professor of Practice
Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Michael Sealy, promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure
Jung Yul Lim, promotion to Full Professor
Four engineering students chosen as Chancellor's Scholars
The engineering students recognized (with major, hometown and parents' names):
Hunter William Dorhout, computer engineering, Sanborn, Iowa (Mark and Nicole Dorhout).
Taylor James Drahota, civil engineering, Lincoln, Nebraska (Troy Drahota and Kathi Drahota).
Maggie Harder, software engineering, Grand Island, Nebraska (Brian and Michelle Harder).
David L. Wacker Jr., mechanical engineering, Hastings, Nebraska (David Wacker Sr. and Polly Wacker).
Nine student researchers earn awards at UNL Research Days
Undergraduate
- Andrea Goertzen, junior, Chemical Engineering – " Metabolic modeling elucidates the distinctive landscape of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells"
- Becca Francis, senior, Biological Systems Engineering – "Development of Nitric Oxide Testing Methodology to Investigate the Impact of Reactive Species on Breast Cancer Cells"
- Aaron Haake, senior, Mechanical Engineering – "Tunable 3D Printing of Liquid-Metal-Embedded Elastomer Composite"
- Stephanie Perez, senior, Civil Engineering – "Microplastic Soil/Sediment Extraction Efficiency for Different MP Polymers and Different Soil Types"
Graduate
- Courtney Keiser, Ph.D. in Engineering, specializing in Materials Engineering – "Mechanically Optimized Vascular Bypass Grafts for Treating Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease" (Top Honors)
- Amir Monemianesfahani, Ph.D. in Engineering, specializing in Biomedical Engineering – "Characterization of the Strain Rate-Dependent Mechanical Response of Single Cell-Cell Junctions" (Top Honors)
- Samuel Flint, Ph.D. in Computer Science – "Escaping the Time Pit: Pitfalls and Guidelines for Using Time-Based Git Data"
- Brandi Brown, Ph.D. in Biological Engineering – "Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009 Lignin Catabolism and Bioplastic Production"
- Thivani Senathiraja, Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering – "The role of monovalent and multivalent cations within SiO2-TiO2-PBC nanocomposite membranes: Preparation and Characterization"
Nelson elected Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The ASME Committee of Past Presidents confers the Fellow grade of membership on worthy candidates to recognize their outstanding achievements. ASME Fellows are nominated by other ASME Fellows or members and must have 10 or more years of active practice and at least 10 years of active corporate membership in ASME.
MME doctoral student Avegnon chosen Fellow in Black Trailblazers in Engineering
The goal of the BTE program is to prepare future engineering faculty who are also committed to increasing the success of Black engineers. BTE Fellows were invited to attend a virtual four-day workshop - Feb. 24-27 – and will receive a $500 scholarship.
Avegnon, who is being advised by Michael Sealy and is a graduate research assistant specializing in additive manufacturing (3D printing) in the NEAT Lab, said his roots as a student and entrepreneur in Africa inspired him to create educational opportunities for rural and underserved communities. Avegnon said he hopes to pay forward his good fortune by becoming an engineering professor and inspiring more Black students to pursue engineering careers.
"My passion is helping raise professional mobility for students with less access to quality education," Avegnon said. "In Ghana, there are many students who are highly motivated but lack access to mentors and resources to truly excel in science and engineering.
"I was lucky to come across the right people who served as my mentors and contributed to my personal and professional growth. I want to do the same for the generations that come behind me."
MME alum Kube receives ASNT Young NDT Professional Award
Kube is an assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics at Pennsylvania State University and is a cofounder of the Penn State Ultrasonics Laboratory (PennSUL), which is dedicated to ultrasound-related research with a core focus on research in nondestructive evaluation.
Prior to joining Penn State in 2018, Kube was a contract researcher at the US Army Research Laboratory, where he specialized in the nondestructive characterization of additively manufactured (AM) parts and structural health monitoring for fatigue awareness in rotorcraft vehicles.
In 2014, Kube received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics from Nebraska, where he studied the influence of residual stress and deformation on the scattering of ultrasound from inhomogeneities.
Kube's research interests include experimental and theoretical modeling of resonant ultrasound, acoustic microscopy, nonlinear ultrasonics, and ultrasonic scattering. Currently, he is leading several active research efforts spanning the use of ultrasound to monitor melt pool dynamics in 3D printing of metals, constitutive modeling of soft and deformed piezoelectric materials, and the combined influences of texture and residual stress on the resonant behavior of AM parts.