Student News
Ph.D. Candidates Win Dowd Fellowships Three of Four Winners Affiliated With MechE
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wo Ph.D. students and one alum from the Department of Mechanical Engi- neering recently were awarded research grants from the Philip and Marsha Dowd Engineering Seed Fund. The Dowd Fellowship program, established in 2001, supports graduate students conducting cutting-edge research for which traditional sources of funding may not be readily available. Three of four 2011-12 Dowd Fellowships were awarded to students affiliated with MechE.
Doctoral student Katherine Hess won funding for her proposed research, entitled “In-Situ, Through-Plane Mea- surements to Advance Aqueous Hy- brid Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storage.” Hess is studying improve- ments to hybrid batteries which will make them efficient, reliable, dynami- cally matched, environmentally be- nign, versatile, and cost-effective. Her research aims to integrate renewable electricity into the grid, improving its reliability. Hess is advised by Assis- tant Professor Shawn Litster.
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Ph.D. candidate Zonghui Su was awarded a grant for his research,
“Thermal Transport in Solid-State Lighting and SSL Efficiency,” which seeks to mitigate heat generation in LEDs. High operating temperatures in GaN and InGaN LEDs degrade their efficiency, shift the emission spectrum, and reduce their lifetime. In fact, for every 10-degree increase in operating temperature, the life- time is approximately halved. Su is advised in this research by Assistant Professor Jonathan Malen.
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MechE alum Prahlad Menon (M.S. 2010) also won Dowd funding to support his doctoral work in the De- partment of Biomedical Engineering
Shown left to right are Katherine Hess, Prahlad Menon, and Zonghui Su.
(BME). His advisor, Assistant Professor Kerem Pekkan, holds appointments in both BME and MechE. Menon’s research is entitled “Hemodynamic Performance Characterization of Aortic Outflow Cannula Jets for Improved Neonatal Cardiopulmonary Bypass.” Menon hopes to maximize neonatal heart surgery outcomes by develop- ing new medical devices that minimize platelet activation, as well as vascular and blood damage, during bypass surgery.•
A Whole New World I 16
n January, MechE senior Gabriella Coloyan had the chance to experience a completely different culture when she traveled to Saudi Arabia. Coloyan was one of nearly 50 finalists chosen worldwide in an annual Research Poster Competition sponsored by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal. Coloyan was selected as a finalist based on an abstract of her poster, which focused on heat flow in carbon nanotubes. While in Saudi Arabia, she presented her poster to a panel of judges—and won third place overall. “It was fascinating to meet so many engineering students from around the world and learn about their research,” says Coloyan. “But it was also an exciting cultural experience.” During her all-expenses-paid, 10-day trip, Coloyan had the opportunity to snorkel in the Red Sea, visit an animal market, and dine in a Bedouin tent. When she traveled to the nearby city of Jeddah, she had to wear the traditional women’s robe called an abaya. “Not many Americans get to experience the Middle Eastern culture, where the roles of women are so remarkably different,” she notes. Back home in Pittsburgh, Coloyan is President of the Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). She plans to pursue a Ph.D., with a focus on heat transfer at the nanoscale.•
CARNEGIE MECH
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