After obtaining my Bachelor’s in Engineering in 2002 with a minor in Mathematics, at the age of 19, I received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship with which I obtained my Master’s from the University of Cambridge in 2004 and my PhD at the University of Groningen in 2005 at the age of 21, becoming the youngest PhD in The Netherlands. After a short post-doctoral period at Harvard/US and at Ecole des Mines of Paris/France, I was the youngest recipient of the European Research Council Starting/ERC Grant at the age of 24 (out of ~9,100 applicants only 300 were funded that year), which I carried out at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, between 2008-2013. In 2013 I joined the University of Arizona as an Associate Professor, and since 2017 I have been an Associate Professor and Faculty Fellow at the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of the University of Florida, where I setup the Laboratory of Nanomaterials for Energy and Biological Applications.
Education
BS, Michigan Technological Univ, 2002,MPhil, Univ of Cambridge (Pembroke College), 2004,PhD, Univ of Groningen, 2005
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Li-ion Batteries, Energy Storage, Mechanical Design I
Research Interests
Katerina E. Aifantis focuses on using solid mechanics for understanding materials behavior at the nanoscale, such as dislocation-grain boundary and dislocation-graphene interactions. In addition to basic science questions, she uses her theoretical and experimental insight to predict the most promising materials systems that can be used in various applications, ranging from next generation electrodes for Li-ion batteries, to bone regeneration scaffolds and bioacompatible electrodes for deep brain stimulation.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Shuang F. G , Aifantis, K.E, Dislocation-graphene interactions in Cu/graphene composites and the effect of boundary conditions: a molecular dynamics study, Carbon 172, 50-70, 2021.
- Du Z., Feng X., Cao G., She Z., Tan R., Aifantis K.E., Zhang R., Li X. ,The effect of carbon nanotubes on osteogenic functions of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and bone formation in vivo compared with that of nano-hydroxyapatite and the possible mechanism, Bioactive Materials 6, 333-345, 2021.
- Hu P.P, Peng W.P, Wang BG, Xiao D.P, Ahuja U.G, Réthoré R., Aifantis K.E., Concentration-Gradient Prussian Blue Cathodes for Na-Ion Batteries, ACS Energy Letters 5, 100-108, 2020.
- Shuang F.G, Deng H.A, Shafique A. B.G, Marsh S., Treiman D., Tsakalis K., Aifantis K. E. A first study on nanoporous tungsten recording electrodes for deep brain stimulation. Materials Letters, article #126885 (4 pg), 2019.
- Huang Y.G, Deng H.A, Fan Y., Zheng L., Che J.G, Li X., Aifantis K.E., Conductive nanostructured Si biomaterials enhance osteogeneration through electrical stimulation, Matls Sci. & Eng. C 103, article# 109748 (10 pg), 2019.
- Hu P.P, Dorogov M., Yan X., Aifantis K.E., Transforming single crystal CuO/Cu2O nanorods into nano-polycrystalline Cu/Cu2O through lithiation, ChemElectroChem 6, 3139-3144, 2019.
Dr. Allen’s research focuses on identifying biomechanical targets that can guide interventional decisions in rehabilitation and device design for individuals with ambulatory impairments. This work leverages musculoskeletal modeling and machine learning techniques to identify deficits in lower-extremity biomechanics and to predict how different interventions or devices will improve ambulatory function. Dr. Allen and collaborators have recently identified several potential biomechanical targets for reducing fall risk and improving mobility in older adults and stroke survivors that her group is following up in NSF and NIH funded projects.
Dr. Allen joins us from West Virginia University, where she is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She then completed post-doctoral training at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. During her training, she was a recipient of both an NSF graduate research fellowship and an NIH F32 individual post-doctoral fellowship.
As a native (north) Floridian and UF Alum, Dr. Allen is excited to head back to Florida and to don the orange-and-blue again!
Professor Angelini received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the University of Illinois. His research interests include collective cell motion, mechanical instabilities in tissue cell assemblies, bacterial biofilm physics, soft matter physics, biomolecular self-assembly, and tribology of soft matter interfaces.
Education
Ph.D., 2005, University of Illinois
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Physical Society, Member
Society of Tribologist and Lubrication Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Soft Biological Mechanics, Soft Tissue Mechanics, Data Measurement and Analysis, Vibrations.
Research Interests
Collective cell motion, mechanical instabilities in tissue cell assemblies, bacterial biofilm physics, soft matter physics, biomolecular self-assembly, and tribology of soft matter interfaces.
Education
PhD, 1988, Brown University,
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Physical Society, Fellow 2006
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2008
American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Computational fluid science (aka CFD), Large scale simulation of complex flows, transition and turbulence, multiphase flows, environmental flows
Simon Barke was born in Germany where he studied physics. For a while, he lived in Moshi, Tanzania, and worked at different local schools and universities. Over the last decade, he has had the privilege to be involved in a number of exciting projects. He was a scientific monitor at the LIGO gravitational wave detector in Livingston, Louisiana. He got his PhD for research on low-frequency gravitational wave observatories in space at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Hannover, Germany, with a focus on inter-spacecraft frequency distribution for LISA, the upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna by the European Space Agency. He then moved to the University of Florida where he conducted research at the Department of Physics on the detection mechanism for ALPS, a dark matter generator and detector that is under construction at the German Electron Synchrotron DESY (Hamburg, Germany). Currently Simon works at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering on the development of a LISA Charge Management device under NASA contract.
He also tried to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, plays online games, and cannot sing (at all).
Education
Doctor rerum naturalium (physics)
Teaching Interests
Limiting fundamental and technical noise sources for ground and space-based gravitational wave observatories
Research Interests
Ultra-low-frequency noise of custom and COTS devices (electronics, electro-optics, lasers), flight hardware development for space missions, mission concepts for future gravitational wave observatories
Education
B.S., 2012, University of Florida,M.S., 2013, University of Florida,Ph.D., 2017, University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
Teaching Interests
Numerical methods, control systems, and optimization.
Additional Roles
Assistant Director of the Industrial Assessment Center, and Assistant Director of the Mobile Energy Laboratory at the University of Florida. He is also an Affiliate Faculty at the Center for Latin American Studies
Education
BS, University of Chile, 1989
Ph.D. University of Florida, 1998
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
Association of Energy Engineers, Member
Research Interests
Industrial energy management and productivity, energy efficiency and optimization, energy policy, new energy sources and materials, chemical reactivity and structure optimization at molecular level.
Teaching Interests
Industrial Energy Management, Linear Algebra, Matrix and Numerical Methods, Chemical Systems Reactivity and Optimization.
Education
Ph.D., 1988, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Research Interests
My current research interests center on engineering education with emphasis on peer mentoring and advising processes, incorporation of AI augmented recommender systems in academic and career mentoring, and factors affecting matriculation of students from undergraduate to graduate study.
Dr. Chen received her Ph.D from the Georgia Washington University in 2003 and jointed University of Florida in 2006. She was a recipient of DARPA Young Faculty Award in 2010 for “Predicting materials properties from their microstructural architecture”, DOE Early Career Award in 2011 for “Prediction of thermal transport properties of materials with microstructural complexity”, and nine US National Science Foundation Awards for multiscale studies of mechanics of advanced materials and thermal transport in heterostructures from 2009 to 2023. Six of her former Ph.D students are now university professors and two are US national laboratory scientists. Dr. Chen was selected as a Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Awardee in 2022.
Education
Ph.D, 2003, The George Washington University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Physical Society, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Materials Research Society, Member
Society of Engineering Science, Member
Teaching Interests
Continuum Mechanics, Vibrations, Nano and Micro Mechanics
Research Interests
Linking and Unifying Atomistic and Continuum Descriptions, Concurrent Multiscale Computational Methods, Atomistic and Multiscale Mechanics, Coupled Defect Dynamics and Phonon transport
Selected Publications
- A. Diaz, B. Gu, Y. Li, S.J. Plimpton, D.L. McDowell, Y. Chen, A parallel algorithm for the concurrent atomistic-continuum methodology, Journal of Computational Physics, 463 (2022) 111140.
- Y. Li, Z. Zheng, A. Diaz, S.R. Phillpot, D.L. McDowell, Y. Chen, Resonant interaction between phonons and PbTe/PbSe (001) misfit dislocation networks, Acta Materialia, 237 (2022) 118143.
- X. Chen, W. Li, L. Xiong, Y. Li, S. Yang, Z. Zheng, D.L. McDowell, Y. Chen, Ballistic-diffusive Phonon Heat Transport across Grain Boundaries, Acta Materialia, 136 (2017) 355-365.
- X. Chen, L. Xiong, D.L. McDowell, Y. Chen, Effects of phonons on mobility of dislocations and dislocation arrays, Scripta Materialia, 137 (2017) 22-26.
- L. Xiong, L., J. Rigelesaiyin, X. Chen, S. Xu, D.L. McDowell, and Y. Chen, Coarse-grained elastodynamics of fast moving dislocations.Acta Materialia, 2016. 104: p. 143-155.
- N. Zhang, N., S. Yang, L. Xiong, Y. Hong, and Y. Chen, Nanoscale toughening mechanism of nacre tablet.Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 2016. 53: p. 200-209.
- Y. Chen, S. Shabanov, and D.L. McDowell, Concurrent atomistic-continuum modeling of crystalline materials.Journal of Applied Physics, 2019. 126(10): p. 101101.
- Y. Chen, and A. Diaz, Physical foundation and consistent formulation of atomic-level fluxes in transport processes.Physical Review E, 2018. 98(5): p. 052113.
Dr. Chung is currently the Andrew H. Hines, Jr./Progress Energy Eminent Scholar Chair Professor at the University of Florida. He joined the University of Florida in 1998 after 19 years on the faculty at the Washington State University. Dr. Chung holds both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Nuclear Engineering and had spent 6 years working as a nuclear reactor safety engineer in the industry before receiving his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979. Dr. Chung’s research activities have been in the general areas of fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Dr. Chung is a co-author for a book entitled “Transport Phenomena with Drops and Bubbles”. He has authored and co-authored over 170 archival journal papers and received the College of Engineering Research Excellence Award in 1988 at the Washington State University. He was awarded the University of Florida, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award in 2008. Recent he received the 2014 ASME Heat Transfer Memorial award. Dr. Chung has served as a technical consultant to the Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Hewlett-Packard Corporation. Dr. Chung is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Education
Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 1979,M.S. University of Missouri-Columbia, Nuclear Engineering, 1973,B.S. National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, Nuclear Engineering, 1970
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 1996
Teaching Interests
Thermodynamics, heat transfer, phase change heat transfer and two-phase flow, energy conversion.
Research Interests
Dr. Chung’s research activities have been in the general areas of fluid mechanics and heat transfer with a special focus on bubble dynamics, phase change heat transfer, multiphase flows, microgravity boiling, turbulence in heated flows, micro-scale thermal transport, fuel cell thermal transport, space cryogenic line chilldown, storage and Transport, energy conversion, hydrogen Energy, biomass and solid waste conversion to clean energy by steam gasification.
John Conklin is an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He joined the UF faculty in 2012 after a three-year research associateship at the W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory at Stanford. He received his BS and MEng degrees from Cornell and PhD from Stanford in 2009. In 2011, John was the Fulbright Junior Lecturer at the University of Trento in Italy. He has served as Chair of NASA’s Physics of the Cosmos Program Analysis Group and Vice-Chair of NASA’s Astrophysics Advisory Committee. John has been awarded the NASA Group Achievement Award (2005) for the Gravity Probe B science team, the Balhaus Prize (2009) for best PhD thesis in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford, the Zeldovich Medal (2010) from COSPAR & the Russian Academy of Sciences, the NASA Early Career Faculty Award (2014), NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowship in Space Astrophysics for Early Career Researchers (2015), Teacher of the Year Award (2015) in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UF, and the Space Science Award from AIAA (2016) for the Gravity Probe B science team.
Education
Ph.D., 2009, Stanford University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Physical Society, Member
American Astronomical Society, Member
American Geophysical Union, Member
Teaching Interests
Dynamics, Astrodynamics, Navigation, Precision Engineering
Research Interests
John’s research is in the development of precision instruments for spacecraft Position, Navigation, Timing and Gravity (PNTG), and the design and analysis of space missions that depend heavily on these technologies.
Selected Publications
- H. Inchauspé, T. Olatunde, S. Apple, S. Parry, B. Letson, N. Turetta, G. Mueller, P.J. Wass, J.W. Conklin, “Numerical modeling and experimental demonstration of pulsed charge control for the space inertial sensor used in LISA”, Physical Review D, Vol. 102, No. 4, pp. 042002, (2020).
- H. Hong, J. W. Conklin, “Finding the suitable drag-free acceleration noise level for future low-low satellite-to-satellite tracking geodesy missions”, Advances in Space Research, Vol. 63, No. 1, pp. 32-50, (2019).
- J. Anderson, N. Barnwell, M. Carrasquilla, J. Chavez, O. Formoso, A. Nelson, T. Noel, S. Nydam, J. Pease, F. Pistella, T. Ritz, S. Roberts, P. Serra, E. Waxman, J. W. Conklin, W. Attai, J. Hanson, A.N. Nguyen, K. Oyadomari, C. Priscal, J. Stupl, J. Wolfe, B. Jaroux, “Sub-nanosecond ground-to-space clock synchronization for nanosatellites using pulsed optical links”, Advances in Space Research, Vol. 62, No. 1, pp. 3475-3490, (2018).
- D. Bortoluzzi, M. Benedetti, J. W. Conklin, “Measurement of metallic adhesion force-to-elongation profile under high strain-rate conditions”, Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Vol. 4, pp. 67-74, (2013).
- C. W. F. Everitt, D. B. DeBra, B. W. Parkinson, J. P. Turneaure, J. W. Conklin, M. I. Heifetz, G. M. Keiser, A. S. Silbergleit, T. Holmes, J. Kolodziejczak, M. Al-Meshari, J. C. Mester, B. Muhlfelder, V. G. Solomonik, K. Stahl, P. W. Worden Jr., W. Bencze, S. Buchman, B. Clarke, A. Al-Jadaan, H. Al-Jibreen, J. Li, J. A. Lipa, J. M. Lockhart, B. Al-Suwaidan, M. Taber, S. Wang, “Gravity Probe B: Final Results of a Space Experiment to Test General Relativity”, Physical Review Letters, Vol. 106, No 22, p. 221101, (2011).
Dr. Costello’s research focuses on understanding the role of movement biomechanics and physical activity in musculoskeletal health, with an emphasis on knee osteoarthritis. This work utilizes motion capture, wearable sensors and machine learning to examine how time-varying, multidimensional joint loads experienced during human movement contribute to disease progression.
Dr. Costello joins us from a NIH F32 & T32 funded postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training at Boston University and the Section of Rheumatology at the Boston University School of Medicine. She previously completed her doctoral work in biomedical engineering at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at Virginia Tech and her undergraduate degree in biomedical and mechanical engineering at Duke University. Dr. Costello also spent a year doing research at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado and a year completing a Fulbright scholarship at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Carl D. Crane is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Center for Intelligent Machines and Robotics (CIMAR) at the University of Florida. He received his B.S. and M.E. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1978 and 1979. Following this he spent five years as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. He then went on to continue his studies and received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Florida in 1987. In 2003 he was named a fellow of ASME. Dr. Crane has been involved in research in the areas of spatial mechanisms, tensegrity systems, robotics, and autonomous navigation for over twenty five years. Current activities include the development and implementation of system architectures for autonomous ground vehicle navigation and the design and implementation of passive parallel mechanisms to be used for force control applications. Dr. Crane was team leader of the University of Florida’s 2004 and 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge autonomous vehicle development efforts and for the University of Florida’s 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge project team. Dr. Crane has authored one book and over forty papers in the area of spatial geometry and robotic systems. He has supervised one hundred and ten Master’s graduates and forty one Ph.D. graduates during his career at the University of Florida.
Education
Ph.D., 1987, University of Florida,M.E., 1979, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,B.S., 1978, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
American Nuclear Society, Member
Teaching Interests
Robotics, computer aided design, and mechanical design.
Research Interests
Spatial mechanisms, robotics, autonomous ground vehicles.
Education
Ph.D., 2006, University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
The American Society for Mechanical Engineers, Member
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Engineering Mechanics (statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials)
Engineering Design
Computer Programming for Engineers (LabVIEW and Matlab)
Research Interests
Computational image analysis
Electrical contact mechanics
Tribology
Engineering education methods for very-large enrollment courses
Prof. Warren Dixon received his Ph.D. in 2000 from Clemson University. He worked as a research staff member and Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) until 2004, when he joined the University of Florida in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, where he is now a Distinguished Professor, Dean’s Leadership Professor, and Department Chair. His main research interest has been the development and application of Lyapunov-based control techniques for uncertain nonlinear systems. His work has been recognized by the 2019 IEEE Control Systems Technology Award, (2017-2018 & 2012-2013) University of Florida College of Engineering Doctoral Dissertation Mentoring Award, 2015 & 2009 American Automatic Control Council (AACC) O. Hugo Schuck (Best Paper) Award, the 2013 Fred Ellersick Award for Best Overall MILCOM Paper, the 2011 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Dynamics Systems and Control Division Outstanding Young Investigator Award, the 2006 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) Early Academic Career Award, an NSF CAREER Award (2006-2011), the 2004 Department of Energy Outstanding Mentor Award, and the 2001 ORNL Early Career Award for Engineering Achievement. He is an ASME Fellow (2016) and IEEE Fellow (2016), was an IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS) Distinguished Lecturer (2013-2018), served as the Director of Operations for the Executive Committee of the IEEE CSS Board of Governors (BOG) (2012-2015), and served as an elected member of the IEEE CSS BOG (2019-2020). His technical contributions and service to the IEEE CSS were recognized by the IEEE CSS Distinguished Member Award (2020). He was awarded the Air Force Commander’s Public Service Award (2016) for his contributions to the U.S. Air Force Science Advisory Board.
Education
Ph.D., 2000, Clemson University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2016
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Fellow 2016
Teaching Interests
Nonlinear Control, Adaptive Control, Control of Mechanical Engineering Systems
Research Interests
Adaptive nonlinear control, robotics, human-machine interactions, biomedical, visual servo control
Selected Publications
- R. Kamalapurkar, P. S. Walters, J. A. Rosenfeld, W. E. Dixon, Reinforcement Learning for Optimal Feedback Control: A Lyapunov-based Approach, Springer, 2018.
- A. Behal, W. E. Dixon, B. Xian, and D. M. Dawson, Lyapunov-Based Control of Robotic Systems, Taylor and Francis, 2009, ISBN: 0849370256.
- W. E. Dixon, A. Behal, D. M. Dawson, and S. Nagarkatti, Nonlinear Control of Engineering Systems: A Lyapunov-Based Approach, Birkhauser Boston, 2003, ISBN: 0- 8176-4265-X.
- S. Bhasin, R. Kamalapurkar, M. Johnson, K. Vamvoudakis, F. L. Lewis, and W. E. Dixon, “A novel actor-critic-identifier architecture for approximate optimal control of uncertain nonlinear systems,” Automatica, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 89-92 (2013).
- N. Fischer, R. Kamalapurkar, and W. E. Dixon, “LaSalle-Yoshizawa Corollaries for Nonsmooth Systems,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 58, No. 9, pp. 2333-2338 (2013).
- P. M. Patre, W. MacKunis, K. Kaiser, and W. E. Dixon, “Asymptotic Tracking for Uncertain Dynamic Systems via a Multilayer Neural Network Feedforward and RISE Feedback Control Structure,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 53, No. 9, pp. 2180-2185 (2008).
- C. Cousin, V. Duenas, C. Rouse, M. Bellman, P. Freeborn, E. Fox, and W. E. Dixon, “Closed-Loop Cadence and Instantaneous Power Control on a Motorized Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycle,” IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, Vol. 28, No. 6, pp. 2276-2291 (2020).
- T.-H. Cheng, Z. Kan, J. R. Klotz, J. M. Shea, and W. E. Dixon, “Event-Triggered Control of Multi-Agent Systems for Fixed and Time-Varying Network Topologies,” IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 62, No. 10, pp. 5365-5371 (2017).
Education
Ph.D., 2020, University of Florida
Research Interests
Prognostics and health management, maintenance of aircraft structure
Teaching Interests
- Capstone Senior Design classes: Mechanical Engineering Design III, Aerospace Design I (Spacecraft Design), and Aerospace Design II (Aircraft Design).
- Solid Mechanics classes: Finite Element Analysis and Design, Mechanics of Materials, Aerospace Structures, and Mechanical Engineering Design I.
Education
- PhD Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida 2013
- MS Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida 2006
- BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida 2004
GATAS Lab: https://gataslab.org/
Research:
Dr. James Fairbanks’ work specializes in the areas of Computational Science and Engineering, Computational Mathematics, numerical methods, and high-performance computing (HPC). He aims to utilize applied category theory, and algebraic techniques for designing and developing software for technical computing problems. In the realm of Computational Mathematics, his research focuses on using mathematical modeling and numerical methods to address challenges in scientific computing and data-driven engineering. He is interested in compositionality in engineered and scientific systems, especially mathematical and theoretical foundations for the design and analysis of complex and hierarchical systems. Research in these topics is fueled by problems in robotics, dynamics, and control and computational physics including computational fluid mechanics.
Research Experience:
Dr. Fairbanks has previously worked on applications of high-performance computing techniques to solve complex problems in fields such as healthcare, social science, epidemiology, biology, and physics. graph algorithms, and analytics. He has previously worked at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (Atlanta, GA) and interned at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, CA) and Center for Computing Sciences (Bowie, MD).
Teaching bio:
Dr. James Fairbanks’ teaching philosophy is deeply rooted in the belief that computational and applied mathematics is essential to modern engineering. Students should be prepared to practice engineering with foundations to understand and appreciate the complexities of numerical methods. These skills and knowledge are critical for students to succeed in all ways that engineers impact society.
Courses taught:
Fall 2022 “Abstraction Composition and Computation” (CIS4930/6930),
Spring 2023 “Numerical Analysis: A Computational Approach” (COT4501).
Spring 2024 “Numerical Analysis: A Computational Approach” (COT4501).
Teaching Interests:
EGM 6341 Numerical Methods of Engineering Analysis I
EGM 3344 Introduction to Numerical Methods of Engineering Analysis
Active Projects: https://gataslab.org/projects
Publications: https://gataslab.org/research
Research Interests:
Applied Category Theory, Computational Science and Engineering, Data Science, Numerical Methods, High Performance Computing, Design and Analysis of Complex Systems, Compositional Systems
Dr. Famiglietti earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2022 after which he worked in the biotech startup community in Gainesville for several years before returning to UF to teach.
Teaching Interests
Engineering Design, Design for Manufacturing, Mechanics, Measurement and Analysis Techniques
Professor Fan joined UF in 2003. His research focus is to develop microfluidics and BioMEMS technologies and apply them to biomedical applications. Microfluidics involves device fabrication and manufacturing, study of fluid behavior in microscale, and exploiting the devices for a variety of applications including point-of-care testing, environmental monitoring, and detection of pathogens in the field.
Education
Ph. D., 1994, University of Alberta
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow 2016
American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering, Fellow 2021
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2018
American Association for Cancer Research, Member
American Chemical Society, Member
Teaching Interests
Fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, microfluidics
Research Interests
Microfluidics, bioMEMS (biomedical microelectromechanical systems), sensors, medical diagnostics, and bioengineering
Selected Publications
- M. N. Le, Z. H. Fan, “Exosome Isolation Using Nanostructures and Microfluidic Devices”, Biomedical Materials, 16, 2021, 022005, DOI: 10.1088/1748-605X/abde70.
- K. Chen, P. Dopico, J. Varillas, J. Zhang, T. J. George, Z. H. Fan, “Integration of Lateral Filter Arrays with Immunoaffinity for Circulating-Tumor-Cell Isolation”, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 58, 2019, 7606–7610, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201901412.
- X. Jiang, J. C. Loeb, C. Manzanas, J. A. Lednicky, Z. H. Fan, “Valve-enabled Sample Preparation and RNA Amplification in a Coffee Mug for Zika Virus Detection”, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 57, 2018, 17211–17214, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201809993.
- J. L. Garcia-Cordero, Z. H. Fan, “Sessile droplets for chemical and biological assays”, Lab on a Chip, 17, 2017, 2150–2166, DOI: 10.1039/c7lc00366h.
- K. Ward, Z. H. Fan, “Mixing in Microfluidic Devices and Enhancement Methods”, Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 25, 2015, 094001, DOI: 10.1088/0960-1317/25/9/094001.
- W. Sheng, T. Chen, W. Tan, and Z. H. Fan, “Multivalent DNA nanospheres for enhanced capture of cancer cells in microfluidic devices,” ACS Nano, 7, 2013, 7067–7076, DOI: 10.1021/nn4023747.
- K. Pitchaimani, B. C. Sapp, A. Winter, A. Gispanski, T. Nishida, Z. H. Fan, “Manufacturable Plastic Microfluidic Valves Using Thermal Actuation,” Lab on a Chip, 9, 2009, 3082–3087, DOI: 10.1039/b909742b.
- Z. Xia, R. Mei, M. Sheplak, and Z. H. Fan, “Electroosmotically-Driven Creeping Flows in a Wavy Microchannel,” Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 6, 2009, 37–52, DOI: 10.1007/s10404-008-0290-8.
- B.J. Lutz, Z. H. Fan, T. Burgdorf, B. Friedrich, “Hydrogen sensing by enzyme-catalyzed electrochemical detection”, Analytical Chemistry, 77, 2005, 4969–4975, DOI: 10.1021/ac050313i.
- K. Fredrickson, Z. H. Fan, “Macro-to-micro interfaces for microfluidic devices”, Lab on a chip, 4, 2004, 526–533, DOI: 10.1039/b410720a.
Education
Ph.D., 1990, Auburn University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Research Interests
Dynamics and control of multibody systems, game theory, orbital dynamics, flight mechanics.
Professor Greenslet received her Ph.D. in 1996 from Utsunomiya University in Japan. Her research interests include Magnetic field-assisted finishing; Surface functionalization and characterization; Ultra-precision surface finishing of optics; Surface and edge finishing of capillary tubes, catheter shafts and stents; and Medical device development.
Education
Ph.D., 1996, Utsunomiya University, Japan
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
CIRP (International Academy for Production Engineering), Fellow 2023
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2015
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Fellow 2016
SPIE (International Society for Optics and Photonics), Member
Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Manufacturing engineering, Fundamentals of production engineering, Nontraditional manufacturing engineering.
Research Interests
Magnetic field-assisted finishing, Sheet metal forming, Surface functionalization and characterization, Ultra-precision surface finishing of optics, Medical device development
Claire Grégoire is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. She received her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, US, and her M.S. from the University of British Columbia, CA. Her research entails the experimental study on combustion processes while developing detailed chemical kinetics model that are crucial for sustainable transportation energy and safety of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. She is an expert in laser absorption spectroscopy and optical diagnostics, specializing in their application in shock tube experiments to investigate reaction chemistry at conditions relevant to advanced combustion systems and solid rocket propellants.
Education
Ph.D., 2024, Texas A&M University, US
MS, 2018, University of British Columbia, CA
BS-MS, 2015, Université d’Orléans, FR
Teaching Interests
Compressive Flow, Combustion, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Optical Techniques.
Research Interests
Combustion, Gas Dynamics, Chemical Kinetics, Laser Diagnostics and Spectroscopy, Shock Tubes, Micro-Flow Reactors, Detonation, and Multiphase Flows.
Awards
• John H.S. Lee Young Investigator Award, ICDERS (2025)
• Dissertation Fellowship, TAMU (2023)
• Mike Walker ’66 Impact Award, TAMU (2022)
• Ralph-James Fellowship, TAMU (2021)
Selected Publications
• Mathieu, C. Grégoire, E.L. Petersen. Assessment of Detailed Kinetics Models for CO Formation in Ethylene Combustion via Time-Resolved Laser Absorption. Fuel 405 (2025) 136641.
• Grégoire, E.L. Petersen. Laser Absorption Measurements of HCl in a Shock Tube for Investigating the Chemical Kinetics of Rocket Propellants. AIAA SciTech 2025 Forum (2025) AIAA 2025-1381.
• Grégoire, O. Mathieu, J. Kalman, E.L. Petersen. Review and Assessment of the Ammonium Perchlorate Chemistry in AP/HTPB Composite Propellant Gas-Phase Chemical Kinetics Mechanisms. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 106 (2025) 101195.
• Mathieu, C. Grégoire, E.L. Petersen. Shock-Tube Study of the Oxidation of Ammonia by N2O. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 40:1-4 (2024) 105250.
• Grégoire, Y.M. Almarzooq, M. Khan-Ghauri, P. Diévart, L. Catoire, E.L. Petersen, O. Mathieu. Enhancing Lithium-Ion Battery Safety: Investigating the Flame-Retardant Efficacy of Bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) Carbonate during Ethyl Methyl Carbonate Combustion. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 40:1-4 (2024) 105559.
• Grégoire, S.P. Cooper, M. Khan-Ghauri, S.A. Alturaifi, E.L. Petersen, O. Mathieu. Pyrolysis study of dimethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, and ethyl methyl carbonate using shock-tube spectroscopic CO measurements and chemical kinetics investigation. Combustion and Flame 249 (2023) 112594.
After 20 years in the robotics industry, Mike came back to UF to teach the design courses.
Education
1991 Ph.D. University of Florida
1988 MSME University of Florida
1985 BSME University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Design, Kinematics, Statics, Numerical Methods
Research Interests
Kinematics, Statics, Screw Theory
Dan Guralnik received his Ph.D. from the Technion-IIT Mathematics department in 2005, specializing in Geometric Group Theory. After post-doctoral appointments at Vanderbilt University and University of Oklahoma, where he worked on asymptotic geometry and boundary dynamics of discrete groups, he moved in 2011 to a post-doctoral appointment at KodLab, the legged locomotion laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, to start work on applications of topology and category theory to problems of knowledge representation in the context of navigation and control. In fall 2019 he has joined NCR as a research scientist to work on developing formal and category-theoretical methods in hybrid control, as part of the AFOSR Center of Excellence in Assured Autonomy in Contested Environments.
Education
Ph.D. Mathematics (Technion-IIT)
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Mathematical Society, Member
Teaching Interests
Algebra (linear, group theory, commutative algebra), Analysis/Calculus, Topology (point-set and algebraic), topics courses on connection of algebra and topology in control.
Research Interests
Hybrid dynamical systems theory from a category-theoretic viewpoint; mobile agent networks; general artificial intelligence and learning from the point of view of internal representations; finite metric geometry and quantization (e.g. clustering); geometric group theory and its applications; asymptotic invariants of non-positively curved groups and continua theory.
Chase Hartquist is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he investigated the mechanics of fracture in soft network materials. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied the mechanics of vascular surgery and biomedical materials. His research focuses on understanding the mechanical and failure behaviors of soft structures, networks, and polymers. This work leverages fundamental structure-property relationships across length scales to inform design of high-performing soft materials and structures for emerging applications in medical technology and clean energy.
Education
Ph.D., 2025, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MS, 2021, Washington University in St. Louis
BS, 2020, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Interests
Solid Mechanics, Soft Materials, Polymer Physics, Biomechanics, Medical Devices
Teaching Interests
Mechanics of Materials, Continuum Mechanics, Fracture Mechanics, Biosolid Mechanics, Soft Tissue Mechanics
Ryan Houim received his BSME from North Dakota State University and his MS and Ph.D. degrees from the Pennsylvania State University. He was a National Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory and a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland prior to joining the University of Florida. His research is focused on understanding the dynamics of multiphase and chemically reactive flows using numerical simulation techniques. Applications of this work include dust explosions, detonation initiation, detonation engines, and the combustion of solid propellants and metal particles.
Education
Ph.D., 2011, The Pennsylvania State University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Physical Society, Member
Teaching Interests
Fluid mechanics, combustion, heat transfer, thermodynamics, computational fluid dynamics
Research Interests
Combustion and multiphase flows including detonation initiation and propagation, dust explosions, propulsion, spray combustion, solid propellant and metal particle combustion.
Dr. Yong Huang is a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering. His research interests are two-fold: 1) processing of biological and engineering materials for healthcare/energy applications, and 2) understanding of dynamic material behavior during manufacturing and process-induced damage or defect structures. He served as the Technical Program Chair for the 2010 American Society of Mechanical Engineers International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (ASME MSEC 2010) and the 2012 International Symposium on Flexible Automation (ISFA 2012). He received various awards for his manufacturing research contributions including the ASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award (2005), the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award (2006), the NSF CAREER Award (2008), and the ASME International Symposium on Flexible Automation Young Investigator Award (2008). He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2002 and is a Fellow of ASME.
Education
Ph.D., 2002, Georgia Institute of Technology
Teaching Interests
Manufacturing Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing Processes and Analyses, Mechanics of Materials
Research Interests
- Three-dimensional (3D) printing of biological and engineering materials from difficult-to-print ink materials using inkjetting, extrusion, and laser-induced forward transfer,
- Design and fabrication of microphysiological and engineered living systems, and
- Study of dynamic material behavior using jetting and machining.
Education
Ph.D., 1992, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Research Interests
Experimental mechanics, moire interferometry, compositie materials, micro air vehicles.
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Member
Piran R. Kidambi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida since Fall 2025. Prior to this he was a Harrington Faculty Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin (2024-2025) and Assistant Professor at the Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as well as Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University (2017-2024). After receiving his PhD from the University of Cambridge (2014), he pursued postdoctoral research at MIT (2014-2017) through a Lindemann Trust Fellowship. Kidambi’s research leverages the intersection between (i) nanomaterial synthesis, (ii) process engineering, and (iii) in situ metrology, to enable bottom-up materials design and synthesis for hydrogen economy, next-generation energy, separations, national security, and healthcare applications. His research has been recognized via several awards and honors including 2024-2045 Donald D. Harrington Faculty Fellowship at UT Austin, ASME Rising Star (2024), AIChE NSEF Young Investigator (2023), DOE Early Career Award (2022), ACS PMSE Young Investigator (2022), NSF CAREER (2020), ECS Toyota Young Investigator (2020), and Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Award (2018), among others as well as several awards to his mentees from high-school to post-doctoral scholars.
Dr. Nam-Ho Kim is presently a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He graduated with a Ph.D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1999 and worked at the Center for Computer-Aided Design as a postdoctoral associate until 2001. He is an Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and an Associate Editor of Journal of Mechanical Design and Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. He has published seven books and more than two hundred refereed journal and conference papers.
Education
Ph.D., 1999, University of Iowa
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Member
Teaching Interests
Finite element method, structural optimization, verification validation and uncertainty quantification, prognostics and health management, Aerospace structures, Applied elasticity.
Research Interests
Design under uncertainty, Prognostics and health management, Verification validation and uncertainty quantification, Nonlinear structural mechanics.
Originally from Korea, Sunjae moved to West Lafayette, IN in 2020 for his doctoral study at Purdue. Following his graduate work, he started as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida in January 2026.
His research focuses on understanding the effects of gravity on multiphase thermal-hydraulic characteristics, with a particular emphasis on cryogenic flow boiling physics. His primary goal is to leverage multiphase fluid-thermal science to innovate in-space thermal management systems. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked as a Research Engineer at the Agency for Defense Development, a national lab in South Korea, where he focused on developing advanced thermodynamic systems for naval defense applications.
Education
Ph.D., 2025, Purdue University
M.S., 2017, Mechanical Engineering, Korea University
B.S., 2015, Mechanical Engineering, Korea University
Research Interests
Cryogenic Propellant Management (CFM)
Two-phase Thermal Management Systems
Boiling and Condensation
Parabolic Flight Experiments
Ultra-High Power Electronics Cooling
Teaching Interests
Heat Transfer
Thermodynamics
Fluid Mechanics
Two-phase flow and heat transfer
Research Groups
Space Systems
Thermal Transport, Thermodynamics and Power
Energy
Fluid Dynamics and Acoustics
Education
Ph.D., 1993, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Research Interests
Multifunctional structures, Finite Element Method, Geometric Modeling, Design Optimization and Rapid Prototyping.
Education
Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, 1995, University of Minnesota
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Research Interests
aeroservoelasticity, morphing, controls, flight testing
Amor A. Menezes is an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida, with affiliate appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Genetics, and Chemical Engineering. He is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Standing Committee on Advances and National Security Implications of Transdisciplinary Biotechnology. His research focuses on modeling and controlling biological processes for medical and space applications. His group develops feedback control systems for inflammation-mediated coagulation disorders; advances the theory of biomolecular positive dynamical systems; designs integrated space biomanufacturing systems; and genetically engineers microbes to reject extreme environments. As Principal Investigator of three multi-university experiments launched to the International Space Station, he established the viability of space microbial biomanufacturing. From 2017-2023, he was Science Principal Investigator of NASA’s Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space. Prof. Menezes’ research was recognized by the NSF CAREER award, the Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program, and the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative. He has contributed to the Engineering Biology Research Consortium’s “Engineering Biology for Space Health Roadmap”, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy workshop on “Homesteading in Space”, and the National Intelligence Council Strategic Futures Group’s “Global Trends Report”. He is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Control Systems Society Technology Conference Editorial Board and the ASME Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference Editorial Board. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Member of AIAA, ASME, and ASGSR. Prof. Menezes received a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan, and completed postdoctoral training in aerospace engineering and bioengineering at the University of Michigan and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively.
Education
Postdoc, 2016, University of California, Berkeley;
Postdoc, 2011, University of Michigan;
Ph.D., 2010, University of Michigan;
M.S.E., 2006, University of Michigan;
B.A.Sc., 2005, University of Waterloo
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, Member
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Senior Member
Teaching Interests
Modeling and Control of Biological Systems, Control of Linear and Nonlinear Systems, and Aircraft and Spacecraft Performance and Control.
Research Interests
Biological Control Systems, Biosecurity, Cellular Engineering, Nonlinear Control, Synthetic Biology, and Systems Biology.
Education
Ph.D., 2006, University of Maryland
Research Interests
Micro/nanoscale transport and nanotechnology for energy science and health applications; nanoengineering of functionalized membranes for energy conversion and storage and filtration/separation applications; heat and mass transfer in micro/nanostructures; microfluidic reactor platforms for fundamental energy research and reaction engineering; portable power
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Member
American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2020
Institute of Electrics and Electronics Engineers, Member
Professor Mohseni received his Ph.D. in 2000 from California Institute of Technology. After a year as a Postdoc in Control and Dynamical Systems at Caltech he joined the Aerospace Engineering Sciences department at the University of Colorado in Boulder as an Assistant Professor. Professor Mohseni joined the University of Florida as W. P. Bushnell Endowed Professor in MAE and ECE departments in 2011. Professor Mohseni is the director of Institute for Networked Autonomous Systems (INAS).
Education
PhD, 2000, California Institute of Technology,MS, Imperial College, UK,BS, Science of Technology University, Iran
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Physical Society, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Institute of Electrics and Electronics Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
State Variable Control Method, Control theory, Fluid dynamics, Sources of Vorticity, Control of Marine and Aerial Vehicles, Sources of Vortices & Vortex Dynamics, State Variable Methods in Linear Systems.
Research Interests
(1) Fluid dynamics including bio-propulsion, shocks, turbulence, vortex dynamics (2) Robotics & Control: including bioinspired unmanned systems, sensor networking in harsh environments (3) Digitized heat transfer
Dr. Jaeyun Moon is leading the Complex Materials Group at the University of Florida within the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. He obtained his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from California Institute of Technology. During his Ph.D., he was a visiting scientist at Stanford University and SLAC National Laboratory and received a Samsung Fellowship, Resnick Graduate Fellowship, and an Acosta Fellowship. He did postdoctoral trainings at Cornell University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. Moon is a recipient of the International Union of Crystallography Young Scientist Award for his work in thermal properties of glasses. His research focuses on microscopically understanding fundamental materials properties of various complex materials such as liquids and glasses and harnessing this knowledge for providing novel design principles for various applications ranging from batteries and nuclear reactors to thermoelectrics. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, swimming, and hiking.
Education
Ph.D., California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 2020
M.S., California Institute of Technology (Caltech), 2016
B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) with the highest honor, 2014
Awards
Samsung Fellowship
Resnick Graduate Fellowship
Acosta Fellowship
International Union of Crystallography Young Scientist Award
SAMPE Tech Conference Outstanding Paper Award
Dr. Patrick Musgrave received his PhD from Virginia Tech in 2018 and BSc & BSE from the University of Pittsburgh in 2012. Dr. Musgrave’s research focuses on adaptive and morphing systems operating in fluidic environments, in particular systems subject to dynamic fluid-structure interactions. These systems are inherently multi-physical and sit at the intersection of structures, hydro/aerodynamics, mechatronics, smart materials, and controls. To investigate these systems, Dr. Musgrave’s research emphasizes a combination of experimentation and analytic/reduced-order modeling. Applications of interest include bio-inspired underwater propulsion, underwater robotics, embedded sensing, and compliant aerospace systems.
Prior to joining the University of Florida in the Fall of 2021, Dr. Musgrave was a research scientist at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in the Naval Center for Space Technology. At NRL, he was a Jerome Karle’s Fellow and received early career funding in the area of bio-inspired underwater propulsion. Dr. Musgrave is a DAAD Scholar, having held a post-baccalaureate research position at the Technical University of Munich.
Education
Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering), 2018, Virginia Tech
BSc (Physics) & BSE (Mechanical Engineering), 2012, University of Pittsburgh
Research Interests
Bio-inspired propulsion, adaptive systems, embedded sensing, fluid-structure interactions, structural dynamics
Dr. Sean Niemi received his Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida in 2018.
Education
Ph.D., 2018, University of Florida
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
Society of Automotive Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Engineering Design, Precision Engineering, Tribology, Metrology, Quality and Manufacturing Engineering
Jing Pan received his PhD from Purdue University in 2017. His research focuses on developing nanoscale machineries for biotechnology applications. He conducted his postdoctoral research at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he demonstrated translational impact of his work in novel biosensors and molecular diagnostics.
Education
Postdoc, 2019 Stanford University
Ph.D, 2017 Purdue University
B.S, 2011 Xi’an Jiaotong University
Teaching Interests
Heat and Mass Transfer; Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics; Modern Optics and Imaging System Engineering; Biodesign
Research Interests
Macromolecular Machines; Directed Evolution; Self-assembly and self-organization; Bio-nanotechnology; Synthetic Biology; Medical Technology.
Research Interests:
Nonlinear Control, Adaptive Control, AI-Based Control Methods, Multi-Agent Systems
Selected Publications:
-
O. Patil, R. Kamalapurkar, and W. Dixon, ”A saturated RISE controller with exponential
stability guarantees,” IEEE Trans. Autom. Control, 2025. -
O. Patil, D. Le, E. Griffis, and W. Dixon, ”Lyapunov-based deep residual neural
network (ResNet) adaptive control,” IEEE Access, 2025. -
O. Patil, R. Sun, S. Bhasin, and W. E. Dixon, ”Adaptive control of time-varying parameter systemswith asymptotic tracking,” IEEE Trans. Autom. Control, vol. 67, no. 9, pp. 4809–4815, 2022.
-
O. Patil, D. Le, M. Greene, and W. E. Dixon, ”Lyapunov-derived control and adaptiveupdate laws for inner and outer layer weights of a deep neural network,” IEEE Control Syst Lett., vol. 6,pp. 1855–1860, 2022.
-
W. Makumi, O. Patil, and W. Dixon, ”Lyapunov-based adaptive deep learning for
approximate dynamic programming,” Automatica, vol. 180, p. 112462, 2025.
Notable Awards:
Graduate Student Research Award, University of Florida, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2023
Dr. Umesh Persad obtained his Ph.D. in Engineering Design from The University of Cambridge (Cambridge Engineering Design Centre), with a special focus on Inclusive and Healthcare Design. His areas of interest include Engineering Design and Product Development, Applied Artificial Intelligence, Educational Innovation and Technology, and Academic Strategy and Leadership. Dr. Persad previously held the position of Associate Professor and Head of Department of the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship (MME) Department at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), West Indies. He was also the co-director of the UTT Centre for Applied Artificial Intelligence Research (CAAIR).
Dr. Persad consults for companies across a range of industries in carrying out design and innovation audits, and in developing methods and tools that support product and process innovation. He is driven by the desire to develop creative young engineers, and to develop solutions that could help people and make technology available to those who need it the most. Dr. Persad’s greatest satisfaction comes from seeing students’ confidence grow in their own problem-solving abilities while developing the right attitudes to be successful lifelong learners and contributors to society.
Education
Ph.D. (2012), Engineering Design, University of Cambridge
B.Sc. (2000), Mechanical Engineering (First Class Honours), University of the West Indies
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Engineering Design and Product Development
Creativity and Innovation
Design for People
Research Interests
Artificial Intelligence in Design
Computational Design Synthesis for Biomedical Applications
Inclusive/Universal Design
Design Management and Process Improvement
Engineering Design Education – Artificial Intelligence Applications
Selected Publications
Alicia Petersen is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the University of Florida. Through data analysis, instrumentation and modeling, Dr. Petersen researches the kinetic physics, magnetism and dynamics at play during the transit and interaction of space weather phenomena in the inner solar system, their impacts on spacecraft, and strategies for mitigating the impacts of space weather.
Dr. Petersen joined the Department of MAE in 2022 after being an NRC Research Fellow at the Space Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory where she researched the propagation of space weather events in order to improve space weather forecasting, with the aim of enhancing space situational awareness and protecting space-based assets for the US Air Force and Space Force. Dr. Petersen earned her PhD and MS from the Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering Dept. at the University of Michigan.
Research
Space weather events have damaging effects on spacecraft, communications, GPS, air transportation, and power systems. Space weather is caused by phenomena which originate at the Sun and propagate through the inner solar system before reaching Earth. This region is dominated by the Sun’s heliospheric magnetic field, which is both shaped by and shapes the propagation of ionized plasma and particles throughout the solar system. This includes explosive eruptions of plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and energetic particles known as solar energetic particles (SEPs). Dr. Petersen’s lab, SWIFT (Space Weather Impacts, Forecasting and Transit) at MAE does computational modeling of the Sun’s magnetic field and solar electrons in the inner solar system, designing/building instrumentation for monitoring space weather and using in situ space-based observations of solar particles to investigate the propagation and interactions of space weather events.
Education
Dr. Alicia Petersen earned her PhD & MS in Space Physics, Engineering and Scientific Computing from the Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering Department in the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Dr. Petersen spent two years studying particle physics and German while studying abroad in Erlangen, Germany and doing research at the Remeis-Sternwarte Observatory in Bamberg, Germany. She earned her undergraduate degree in Physics and Mathematics from Kalamazoo College in Michigan.
Teaching
The Space Environment; Space Physics; Heliophysics; Dynamics; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice (DEIJ) in STEM,
Engineering Education and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Dr. Petersen has served on the Executive Committee of the American Geophysical Union’s Education Section. She researches and implements research-based education practices in her lab and classroom to create engaging and inclusive learning environments. Dr. Petersen is passionate about promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and has extensive training and experience engaging in actions to enhance DEI in the teaching, research and culture of academia.
Dr. Christopher “Chrispy” Petersen is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Department at the University of Florida. His research interests lie in anything related to space guidance, navigation, control, and autonomy, with particular focus of making techniques real-time implementable and usable for operators. While all of space interests him, his research mostly is concerned with Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) and any satellite in the eXtra Geostationary (XGEO) regime (above geostationary orbit, to the Moon, and beyond).
Dr. Chrispy Petersen joined the Department in 2022. Before that, he was a Research Aerospace Engineer and a Deputy Program Manager at the Space Vehicles Directorate of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RV) located at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. While at AFRL he worked on 10+ satellite experiments, developing, deploying, and executing guidance, navigation, control, and autonomy (GNCA) algorithms for ground and on-orbit use. As a highlight, Dr. Chrispy Petersen was the PI for advanced autonomous guidance algorithms used by the Mycroft flight experiment which has been recognized as “…the AF’s biggest game changer” for space warfighters. Before he left, he served as the Deputy Program Manager of the Autonomous Demonstrations and Orbital eXperiments (ADOX) Portfolio, which is a series of satellite demonstrations focused on autonomy technologies to enable satellite inspection, XGEO space domain awareness and logistics in GEO including advanced propulsion and refueling. For his accomplishments, in 2021 he was awarded the AFRL Early Career Award. In addition to his duties at AFRL, he was a Research Professor at the University of New Mexico in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, teaching classes on nonlinear control and spacecraft dynamics, estimation, and control.
Research
Dr. Chrispy Petersen looks at four research pillars that cross theory and application
- Exploring and exploiting spacecraft dynamics
- Advanced guidance, navigation, control and autonomy (GNCA)
- Real-time computationally aware optimization for spacecraft
- Immersive human-satellite interfaces
He is interested in all four pillars for space applications, but primarily focuses on two domains: i) Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPO), where two or more satellites fly within 500 km of one another, and ii.) eXtra Geostationary Orbit (XGEO) operations, where satellites fly past the Earth, the Moon, and beyond. He enjoys a healthy balance between theory and application in order to improve state-of-the-art space technology. At UF Dr. Petersen’s lab, the Spacecraft Technology And Research (STAR) Lab, is developing, designing, and deploying methods for satellites.
Education
Dr. Chrispy Petersen earned his PhD (2016) & MS (2014) in Spacecraft Dynamics & Control in the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. Before that he earned his BS summa cum laude in Aerospace Engineering from Syracuse University (2012), with minors in Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Music Performance.
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Astronautical Society, Member
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Institute of Electrics and Electronics Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Dynamics; Nonlinear Control; Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation, and Control; Optimization. Optimal Control; Linear Systems
Awards
- 2021 AFRL Early Career Award
- 2021 AFRL Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engineering Achievement Award
- 2020 AFRL/RV Rotary National Aware for Space Achievement (RNASA) Team Award (EAGLE/Mycroft)
- 2020 AFRL STEM Exploratory Or Advanced Tech Development Team Award (EAGLE/Mycroft)
- 2019 AFRL Annual Award Commander’s Cup Team Award (EAGLE/Mycroft)
- 2018 AFRL Nominee for Theodore Von Karman Team Award (EAGLE/Mycroft)
Humberto Ramos was born in Zacatecas, Mexico where he obtained his Bachelor’s in Mechatronics Engineering. From 2010 to 2012 he served as engineering director at a mining company where he led the development of electronic consoles for explosive detonation sequences. In 2012 he returned to academia as a professor of controls and mechatronic design. In 2020 he obtained his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Texas A&M University. During his graduate studies at the Land Air and Space Robotics (LASR) laboratory, he explored computer vision algorithms for relative navigation for space proximity operations and visual-aided inertial navigation systems for GPS-denied navigation applications. In 2020 he joined the Mechanical and Aerospace department at the University of Florida as a postdoctoral researcher, sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory. During this time he developed new robust algorithms that extended the practical applicability of the Kalman filter. In 2023 he became a research scientist and manager of the Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory at the Research Education and Engineering Facility (REEF) in Shalimar, Florida. Here he continues collaborations with the Air Force Research Laboratory on GPS-denied navigation systems for Guidance, Navigation, and Control applications.
Education
2010 Bachelors in Mechatronics Engineering, Polytechnic University of Zacatecas
2020 Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University
Teaching Interests
Optimal state estimation
Mechatronics design
GPS-denied navigation systems
Control theory
Professor Rao earned his Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University, his M.S.E. in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan, and his B.S. in mechanical engineering and A.B. in mathematics from Cornell University. Professor Rao’s research interests lie in the area of control and optimization of space and air vehicles and combine the development of new computational methods for optimal control with novel applications including space mission planning, performance optimization of atmospheric flight vehicles, and other vehicular control problems (for example, high performance ground and underwater vehicles). He has pioneered the development of the latest state-of-the-art discretization methods for optimal control that has led to the MATLAB software program GPOPS-II which is being used worldwide in government, academia, and industry in all of the aforementioned application areas. He has won numerous teaching awards in his career including MAE department teacher of the year. Professor Rao is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is also a member of the American Astronautical Society and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.
Education
Ph.D., 1996, Princeton University,M.A., 1992, Princeton University,M.S.E., 1989, University of Michigan,A.B., 1988, Cornell University,B.S, 1988, Cornell University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Astronautical Society, Fellow 2021
Teaching Interests
Dynamics, optimal control, orbital mechanics, and vibrations.
Research Interests
Optimal space mission design and control, atmospheric flight performance optimization and control, computational methods for optimal control, guidance and control of aerospace vehicles, performance optimization of ground and underwater vehicles.
Professor Subrata Roy studies ionized gas physics and its various applications: (1) Atmospheric plasma actuators for flow mixing, propulsion, and turbulent flow control; (2) Hypersonic flows; (3) Space propulsion; and (4) Hydrodynamic models for micro and nanofluidics by incorporating Knudsen’s theory. Prof. Roy is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, a Fellow of the ASME, and an Associated Fellow of the AIAA. He serves as a member of the Editorial Board of Nature Scientific Reports and Actuators. He has over 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals and bound volumes and holds over 30 patents including one on Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle. Prof. Roy is also a nation appointed member to the NATO Science and Technology Organisation working group on plasma actuator and signature technologies. He served as the Forum Technical Chair for SciTech in 2018, Technical Discipline Chair for the 2016 SciTech Plasma Dynamics & Lasers Conference. Prior to his academic career, he spent several years in industry.
EDUCATION
PhD, 1994, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Associate Fellow 2001
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2004
Royal Academy of Engineering, Distinguished Visiting Fellow 2013
Royal Aeronautical Society, Fellow 2015
National Academy of Inventors, Inducted Fellow 2021
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer, Hypersonics, Magnetogasdynamics, Plasma Based Flow Control, Electric Propulsion, and Micro/Nanoscale Flows.
Dr. Sarntinoranont grew up in Starke, Clermont and Gainesville, FL. Her degrees are in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Bioengineering. Dr.S’s research is driven by a vision to develop engineering tools for patient-specific drug therapy. Her lab is developing image-based computational models that predict flows and transport within the brain, spinal cord, tumors and bioreactors. She is an author on over 100 journal articles and conference proceedings and she is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. She has been the research advisor of over 25 graduate students and over 50 undergraduate students. In her free time, she likes to listen to rock music and garden.
Education
Ph.D., 1999, U.C. Berkeley
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Biosolids mechanics, Biofluids & BioHeat Transfer, Mechanics of Materials, Continuum Mechanics, Soft Tissue Mechanics
Research Interests
Soft tissue biomechanics, physiologic fluid flow, and macromolecular drug delivery.
Jonathan Scheffe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. Prof. Scheffe’s research is focused on the conversion and storage of solar energy in the form of renewable fuels/electricity through thermochemical routes. He is the former chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Solar Energy Division and has co-authored more than 35 peer received publications in the field of solar thermal energy conversion. Prof. Scheffe receives research funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Florida Department of Transportation, Qatar National Research Foundation and Industry.
Education
Ph.D., 2010, University of Colorado, Boulder
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Thermodynamics, heat transfer, kinetics, solar engineering
Research Interests
Solar thermochemical and electrochemical energy conversion, defect chemistry and thermodynamics of nonstoichiometric oxides
Prof. John K. Schueller received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1983. He is a generalist with some concentration in manufacturing and in off-highway vehicles and equipment. He is a Fellow of ASABE, IAABE, and SAE and holds Founder, Life, and/or Senior Member status in ASME, EurAgEng, IEEE, ISAE, and SME. Prof. Schueller is the Chair Editor-in-Chief of Computers and Electronics in Agriculture and serves on the Management Committee of the Club of Bologna. His awards, including the Kishida, Magoon, Pinckney, Teetor, and Vasey, have primarily been for his work in high-speed machining of metal alloys, precision agriculture, international activities, and teaching. He has previously been employed by Gilson Brothers Company, Purdue University, Texas A&M University, Caterpillar, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden, and Kyoto University.
Education
Ph.D., 1983, Purdue University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Institute of Electrics and Electronics Engineers, Member
Society of Automotive Engineers, Fellow 2003
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Member
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
controls, manufacturing, mechatronics, off-highway vehicles
Research Interests
manufacturing, off-highway vehicles, precision agriculture
Education
Ph.D., 2014, University of Florida
Teaching Interests
HVAC Systems, Energy Management
Education
Ph.D., 1991, University of Virginia
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Combustion Institute, Member
Research Interests
Combustion, fluid diagnostics, Fluid mechanics, aircraft design.
Mark Sheplak is currently a Professor holding joint appointments in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida. Prior to joining UF in 1998, he was a postdoctoral associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories, Cambridge, MA from 1995-1998. He received a BS degree in 1989, a MS degree in 1992, and a Ph.D. degree in 1995 in Mechanical Engineering from Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. During his Ph.D. studies he was a GSRP Fellow at NASA-LaRC in Hampton, VA from 1992-1995.
Education
Ph.D., 1995, Syracuse University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Acoustical Society of America, Fellow 2009
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Institute of Electrics and Electronics Engineers, Member
Teaching Interests
Acoustics, MEMS, Aerodynamics, and Fluid Mechanics
Research Interests
His current research focuses on the design, fabrication, and characterization of high-performance, instrumentation-grade, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensors and actuators that enable the measurement, modeling, and control of various physical properties. Specific applications include technology development to enable large-channel count micromachined directional microphone arrays for aeroacoustic noise source localization and miniature skin-friction sensors for aerodynamic drag characterization and flow control.
Education
Ph.D., 1985, Iowa State University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Associate Fellow 2002
American Society for Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Fellow 2002
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2000
Royal Aeronautical Society, Fellow 2017
American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers, Fellow 2023
International Association for Hydrogen Energy, Member
International Institute of Refrigeration, Member
International Solar Energy Society, Member
Research Interests
Heat and Mass Transfer, Thermodynamics, Thermal System Design and Optimization, Refrigeration and Cryogenics, HVAC, Solar and Hydrogen Energy
Links
- US-Australia Sustainable Energy Initiative
- UF Industrial Assessment Center
- International Association for Hydrogen Energy
- Google Scholar Page
- ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering
- ASME Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications
- Applied Thermal Engineering
- Heat Transfer
- International Journal of Exergy
- International Journal of Energy for a Clean Environment
- International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
- Handbook of Hydrogen Energy
- International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer
- Journal of Thermal Science
- Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research
- Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences
- International Journal of Energy and Environment
- International Journal of Automotive and Mechanical Engineering
- Highlights of Sustainability
- ORCID
- ASME Frank Kreith Energy Award
- Cryo
- Energies
Dr. Jingjing Shi’s research focuses on understanding energy transport and conversion to solve thermal challenges in different systems, with an emphasis on wide and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor devices for future power and radio-frequency applications. Her work utilizes multiscale modeling and experimental methods to understand effects of different mechanisms like atomistic structures and defects on energy transport in materials and at interfaces. The findings are leveraged for the electro-thermal codesign of power and RF devices to maximize their performance.
Dr. Shi is now a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Electronics Manufacturing and Reliability Laboratory in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. She received her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, and her bachelor’s degree in Engineering Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering from Tsinghua University.
Jane Shin is an assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Florida. She received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and the B.S. degree in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering from Seoul National University.
During her PhD, she closely collaborated with the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Panama City (NSWC PCD) on developing novel information-driven sensor path planning algorithms for underwater multi-target classification using side-scan sonar sensors. Her expertise is in developing sensor path planning algorithms based on information theory and machine learning methods applied to underwater acoustic imagery. She also has expertise in developing computationally efficient path planning algorithms based on computational geometry. She was selected as a Commercialization Fellow at Cornell in 2020.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., 2021, Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University
M.S., 2019, Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University
B.S., 2017, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Seoul National University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
Institute of Electrics and Electronics Engineers, Member
TEACHING INTERESTS
Control Theory, Underwater Robotics, Robotics Sensor Perception and Planning Algorithms
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Robotics Sensor Perception and Planning, Robot Motion and Path Planning, Information-driven Approaches, Underwater Robotics
Youngsup Song is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida. He obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where he investigated multiphase heat transfer. Following his graduate work, he trained as a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before joining the University of Florida.
Education
Ph.D., 2021, Mechanical Engineering, MIT
M.S., 2012, Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University
B.S., 2010, Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University
TEACHING INTERESTS
Heat transfer, Thermodynamics, Renewable energy
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Thermo-fluid science, Energy system, Advanced materials, Interfacial phenomena
Professor Spearot received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research broadly includes the use of atomistic and mesoscale simulation techniques to study the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of materials, with particular focus on the behavior of interfaces. He was awarded the NSF CAREER Award in 2010 and was named 2020 Teacher of the Year in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.
Education
Ph.D., 2005, Georgia Institute of Technology
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Society of Electrics and Electronic Engineers, Member
The Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society, Member
US Association for Computational Mechanics, Member
Teaching Interests
Mechanics of materials, fracture mechanics, classical atomistic simulation methods.
Research Interests
Computational mechanics and materials science (including atomistic simulations, discrete dislocation dynamics simulations, and phase-field modeling), behavior of defects in materials, nanostructured materials, linking between atomistic and continuum length scales, and method development for atomistic and mesoscale computational modeling.
Professor Ghatu Subhash obtained his PhD from University of California San Diego in 1991 and conducted his post-doctoral research at California Institute of Technology. His research focuses on multiaxial behavior of advanced ceramics, metals, composites, gels and biological materials. He has developed novel experimental methods which have been patented and widely used. He has co-authored 205 peer reviewed journal articles (8400 citations in Google Scholar, h-index=48), 85 conference proceedings, 2-books, and 6 patents. He has given numerous keynote and invited lectures at major international conferences. He has graduated 35-PhD students and is currently advising 6-PhD students and one post-doctoral fellow. Many of his students have received awards at International Student Paper Competitions in professional societies and were awarded fellowships from NSF, DOD, and DOE. His former students are employed at major Universities in US and abroad, and national laboratories including SNL, ORNL, PNNL and ARL. He is a Fellow of three societies: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM), and the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He is the Editor-in-Chief of Mechanics of Materials (an International Journal) and Associate Editor of Journal of the American Ceramic Society. He has received numerous awards for teaching, research and professional service including the SEM Lazan Award (2021) for innovative contributions to experimental mechanics, UF Doctoral Dissertation Advisor/Mentoring Award (2021), SEM ‘Frocht Award’ (2018) in recognition of outstanding achievements as an educator, ‘Best Paper’-Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology (2016), ‘Significant Contribution Award’ for development of rapid processing scheme of ceramic nuclear fuels from the American Nuclear Society. ‘Technology Innovator Award’ from University of Florida, ASME Student Section Advisor Award’, ‘SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award’, and ‘ASEE Outstanding New Mechanics Educator’ award. He has also served as the National Academies of Engineering Panel Member.
Education
Ph.D., 1991, University of California San Diego
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
Society of Experimental Mechanics, Fellow 2015
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, Member
American Ceramic Society, Fellow 2020
Teaching Interests
Experimental Mechanics, Mechanics of Materials, Elasticity, High Strain Rate Deformation of Advanced Materials
Research Interests
– Cutting-edge research in the areas of solid mechanics, material science and biomedical engineering
– High strain rate and shock response of biomaterials and gels
– Dynamic multiaxial response, characterization of deformation modes, and fracture behavior of structural ceramics, ultrahigh temperature materials, metallic glasses, 3D woven composites, structural foams, nanostructured materials, gels and biological materials, and refractory metals
– Processing-structure-property relationships in ultra-high temperature ceramics and ceramics
– Development of novel test methods for low density materials and experimental mechanics
– Dynamic wear, dynamic hardness
Professor Xin Tang received his Post-doctoral training from Harvard University and Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research centers at the interface of engineering, physics, chemistry, and biology. His lab studies cell and molecular mechanics in cancer, cardiovascular system, and neurons; unconventional mechano-electrophysiology; quantitative in vivo/vitro functional bio-imaging; AI/ML-powered bio-nanotechnology; and development of new biophysical tools to probe biological function/structure. His research is supported by NIH, NSF, AFOSR/DoD, UF Health Cancer Center, UF Opportunity Funds, and etc. He was awarded the NIH Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award (R35), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Junior Investigator, Researcher of the Year 2024 Award in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, NIH/NCI-designated UF Health Cancer Center Rising Star of the 2024 Year Award, and Faculty Advisor/Mentor of the Year 2025 Award in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
Education
Postdoc, 2017, Harvard University
Ph.D., 2013, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Teaching Interests
Active Soft Matter Biophysics; Biomechanics at Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Scales; Quantitative Optical Bio-imaging; Continuum Mechanics; and Finite-element Analysis
Research Interests
Biomechanics, Mechanobiology and Soft Matter: Cell and molecular mechanics in cancer development and metastasis, cardiovascular system, and neurons; unconventional mechano-electrophysiology; quantitative in vivo/vitro functional bio-imaging; bio-nanotechnology; and development of new biophysical tools to probe biological function/structure.
Recent Publications
Yin Xin, Keming Li , Miao Huang, Chenyu Liang, Dietmar Siemann, Lizi Wu, Youhua Tan, and Xin Tang, Biophysics in tumor growth and progression: from single mechano-sensitive molecules to mechanomedicine. 2023, Oncogene (Nature), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41388-023-02844-x.pdf.
Note: This article is selected as “The best of Oncogene 2023″.
Chenyu Liang, Qian Zhang, Xin Chen, Jiawei Liu, Mai Tanaka, Shu Wang, Sharon E. Lepler, Zeyuan Jin, Dietmar W. Siemann, Bo Zeng, and Xin Tang, Human cancer cells generate spontaneous calcium transients and intercellular waves that modulate tumor growth, Biomaterials (Impact Factor: 15.3), 2022, 290, 121823, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014296122200463X.
Chenyu Liang, Miao Huang, Tianqi Li, Lu Li, Hayley Sussman, Yao Dai, Dietmar W. Siemann, Mingyi Xie, and Xin Tang, Towards an integrative understanding of cancer mechanobiology: calcium, YAP, and microRNA under biophysical forces, Soft Matter (Impact Factor: 4.1), 2022,18, 1112-1148, https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/sm/d1sm01618k
Dr. Curtis R. Taylor, Ph.D. directs the nanomechanics research lab at UF. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in solid mechanics. Nanomechanics deals with the study and application of fundamental mechanical properties of physical systems at the nanoscale, like elastic, thermal, and kinetic. The application of this research seeks to develop new technologies that utilize the unique properties of nano- and bio-materials. Before joining Florida, he was an Assistant Professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. He received his B.S. degree (1998) in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland, and his M.S. (2002) and Ph.D. (2005) in electrical engineering and physics from the University of Arkansas. Before coming to Arkansas in 2000, he worked for one year as a software development project manager at Capital One Financial Corporation in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Taylor has also held research appointments with the U.S. Air Force, United Technologies Corporation, and the National Center for Electron Microscopy at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
Education
PhD, 2005, University of Arkansas
Teaching Interests
Mechanics of Materials; Nanomechanics; Vibrations
Research Interests
Nanomechanics; Nanotechnology; Solid Mechanics; Engineering Education
Dr. Matthew J. Traum is an experienced educator, administrator, fund raiser, and researcher serving the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida as an instructional faculty member. Traum serves as Principle Investigator of UF’s GatorKits Laboratory focused on pedagogical research and best practices for hands-on kit-centered STEM instruction. A serial entrepreneur and inventor in the Ed Tech, Energy Tech, and Bio Tech industries, Dr. Traum is Founding Director of RaveBio, a biotechnology startup and UF spin-off created by his former students to commercialize multifunctional biological shaker tables. Previously, Dr. Traum was an Associate Professor and Director of Engineering Programs at Philadelphia University. Prior to PhilaU, he served on the Milwaukee School of Engineering faculty and was co-founder of the Mechanical & Energy Engineering Department at the University of North Texas – Denton. Dr. Traum’s pedagogical expertise includes teaching and assessment for Web-based STEM courses with labs as well as instructing and evaluating large-enrollment engineering design courses. His experimental research expertise encompasses design and metrology of novel alternative energy systems including Tesla turbines, direct-air cryogenic carbon sequestration, and vapor transport through multi-functional micro- and nano-porous media.
Education
B.S., 2001, Mechanical Engineering, University of California – Irvine,
B.S., 2001, Aerospace Engineering [cum laude], University of California – Irvine,
M.S., 2003, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Ph.D., 2007, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
Association of Energy Engineers, Member
American Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Society of Engineering Education, Member
American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Member
Tesla Engine Builders Association, Member
Textbook & Academic Authors Association, Member
Teaching Interests
Design and Energy-Thermal-Fluids
Research Interests
Teaching and assessing Web-based STEM courses with labs; evaluation and instruction of large-enrollment engineering design courses; design and metrology for novel alternative energy systems: Tesla turbines, direct-air cryogenic carbon sequestration, and vapor transport through micro- and nano-porous media.
Lawrence Ukeiley is currently a Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Florida. His primary research interests are in experimental fluid dynamics and turbulence as related to flow control, aeroacoustics, fluid structure interactions and the development of low order models. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Alfred University in 1989 and his MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University in 1992 and 1996 respectively. Since graduating with his doctorate he has held positions at BEAM Technologies (Research Scientist), NASA Langley Research Center (NRC Post-Doctoral Associate) and the Jamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics at the University of Mississippi (Research Scientist and Research Assistant Professor) before joining the faculty at UF. Dr. Ukeiley is an active member in many professional society and has served on the Technical Committees in both the AIAA and ASME.
Education
Ph.D., 1996, Clarkson University
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Member
American Physical Society, Member
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow 2018
Sigma Xi, Member
Teaching Interests
Fluid Dynamics, Aerodynamics, Experimental Methods
Research Interests
Fluid Mechanics, Experimental Methods, Turbulence, Aeroacoustics, Flow Control, Reduced Order Modeling, Bio-Inspired Low Reynolds Number Fluid Dynamics, Fluid Structure Interactions
Yu Wang is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Florida (UF) and the Group Lead of Autonomous and Connected Vehicles of the UF Transportation Institute. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Statistics and Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His research focuses on assured autonomy, cyber-physical systems, machine learning, and formal methods. This work on statistical verification of hyperproperties for cyber-physical systems was selected as one of the Best Paper Finalists of the ACM SIGBED International Conference on Embedded Software (EMSOFT) in 2019.
Professional Memberships and Fellowships
American Physical Society, Member