Department of Mechanical Engineering

2009-2010 News

2008-2009 News

 

Princevac receives the 2009 award for Boundary Layer Meteorology Research

October 5, 2009

The Department is very pleased to announce that Marko Princevac received the 2009 award for Boundary Layer Meteorology Research. This award was presented by Kipp and Zonen, a leading company that manufactures instruments for measuring solar and atmospheric properties. The award was presented at the recently concluded Annual Meeting of the European Meteorological Society in Toulouse, France, where Marko presented his paper titled “Field, Laboratory and Numerical Study of Turbulent Dispersion in Built Environments.”

Congratulations Marko!

Professor Dames Awarded $150,000 DARPA Young Faculty Award

September 30, 2009

We are very pleased to announce that Chris Dames is a recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award for his project titled “Ballistic-Elastic Thermal Rectification in Asymmetric Nanostructures.” The official start date is September 17, 2009 and the award includes an initial funding of $150,000 for one year, with a strong chance for a second year funding at the same level. More importantly, it brings significant recognition to Chris’ research and visibility to our department.

Congratulations Chris!

Ph.D. Student Anh Nguyen Awarded Prestegious UCTC Fellowship

September 28, 2009

 

Congratulations to Anh Nguyen, a first year Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering who was awarded a $22,000 UCTC fellowhsip to conduct transportation related research. She is one of four UCR students awarded for the 2009-2010 academic year. Anh will conduct her research under Professor Heejung Jung. Professor Jung encourages all eligible ME undergraduates to contact him if interested in pursing this fellowship along with graduate study at UCR on transportation, engines and emissions.

Details on UCTC (UC Transportation Center) are at http://www.uctc.net/.

Details on eligibility for the fellowship are at Professor Jung's homepage at http://www.engr.ucr.edu/~heejung/opportunity/.

Professor Xu named Co-PI for USC (National Science Foundation) for the Study of Realistic Initial Conditions for Large Scale Earthquake Rupture Simulations

September 23, 2009

The department of Mechanical Engineering is proud to announce that Guanshui (Alex) Xu is the PI of a new grant received as a subaward from USC (Prime Sponsor: National Science Foundation) for a project titled "Realistic Initial Conditions for Large Scale Earthquake Rupture Simulations.". The award is for $20,000. Co-PI's on this project are Professors Deterich and Oglesby from the Department of Earth Sciences. This award builds on Alex’s continued successful collaboration with faculty members in the Earth Sciences Department at UCR.

Congratulations Alex!

Professor Jung Receives $170,000 in Grant Money from the California Air Resources Board

September 18, 2009

We are very pleased to announce that Heejung Jung is the PI for a new grant titled “Measurement of Diesel Solid Nanoparticle Emissions Using a Catalytic Stripper for Comparison to Europe’s PMP Protocol,” funded by the California Air Resources Board. The award is for $170,000 for a total period of 18 months. His co-PI on this project is Dr. Tom Durbin from CE-CERT. I am very happy to note that this grant will enhance ME’s and CE-CERT’s visibility.

Congratulations Heejung!

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Receive over $2.0 Million Dollars in New Grants to Support Research Commencing in FY 2009-2010

September 16, 2009

The department is very pleased to announce that a large number of our faculty are recipients of new grants from federal, state, and industrial sources for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The cumulative value of these new grants exceeds $2 million. In addition, several of our faculty members have received increments on existing contracts and agreements. A list of the PI's including a brief description of their funded projects is given below:

NEW GRANTS

Professor Chris Dames is the lead Principal Investigator (PI) on a National Science Foundation grant for a project titled "Measuring Thermal Conductivity of Graphene," in collaboration with co-PI Professor Jeanie Lau in Physics. This project commenced officially on July 1, 2009. His award is for $314,730 for a period of 3 years.

Professor Thomas Stahovich is the lead PI on a National Science Foundation grant for a project titled "Transforming Statics Instruction through the Creation and Evaluation of Efficient and Effective Practice Experiences," in collaboration with co-PI Professor Bob Calfee in the School of Education. Their work officially gets underway on October 1, 2009. The award is for $399,695 for a period of 3 years.

Professor Akula Venkatram is the PI for a new grant titled "Improving understanding of regional and near-source air quality impacts of distributed generation sources," funded by the California Energy Commission. The award is for a total of $650,000 for the period July 15, 2009 through March 1, 2013. One of the principals is Professor Marko Princevac who will be working with Professor Venkatram on the plume rise component of this project.

Professor Marko Princevac is the lead PI on a project titled "Superfog formation: laboratory experiments and model development" that is funded by the Joint Fire Sciences Program and administered by the USDAFS. This project runs from July 2009 through June 2012 and is for a total of $247,436. Professor Princevac's Co-Investigators on this project are Professors Shankar Mahalingam and Akula Venkatram.

Professor Javier Garay is the PI for a new equipment grant titled "Increasing the Capabilities of the Spark Plasma Sintering System: Adding gas Process Control and Glove Box Features," funded by the Army Research Office. The award is for $55,070 for the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

Professor Guillermo Aguilar is the PI for a new grant titled "Experimental Assessment of Laser-Assisted Cryosurgery: Ex-vivo and In-vivo Studies," funded by the UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee. The award is for $43,660 for the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

Professor Guillermo Aguilar is the PI for a new grant titled "Model for Performance Assessment of LS Duet ET and HS," funded by the Lumenis Ltd (INCL COHERENT, ESC MEDICAL GROUP). The award is for $42,845, effective July 27, 2009. This contract represents the 1st phase of a project that will be funded in three phases. This phase is focused on the development of a mathematical/numerical model to simulate 810 nm pulsed laser irradiation and distribution within human skin. The purpose is to assess and optimize the performance of a medical laser device which is primarily used for laser epilation. This device combines auxiliary parallel contact cooling and skin suction procedures in current treatment protocols, which has been one of the subjects of study in Guillermo's lab over the past few years. Subsequent phases will focus on model validation and effectiveness through clinical studies, respectively.

Professor Shankar Mahalingam is the PI on a project titled "Collaborative Research: A Fundamental Investigation of Fire Initiation and Fire Behavior in Sparse Vegetation," funded by the National Science Foundation. Professor Mahalingam will collaborate with Professor Thomas Fletcher at BYU's Chemical Engineering Department. They will work closely with scientists at the USDA Forest Service laboratories in Riverside and Montana. The award period is October 1, 2009 through August 31, 2012. UCR as the lead organization will receive $297,333.

Professor Guanshui Xu is the PI of a subaward from USC (Prime Sponsor: National Science Foundation) for a project titled "Realistic Initial Conditions for Large Scale Earthquake Rupture Simulations.". The award is for $20,000. Co-PI's on this project are Professors Deterich and Oglesby from the Department of Earth Sciences.

RENEWALS
Renewal's on existing contracts for the new fiscal year are:

Professor Qing Jiang as PI for an ongoing project titled "Development of Low-Power Piezoelectric Acoustic Wave Pressure Sensors with Automated Calibration," received an increment of $24,000 from 3E Technologies International, Inc.

Professor Shankar Mahalingam as PI of a cooperative agreement for a project titled "Experimental and Numerical Modeling of Wildland Fire Spread Transitions," received an increment of $42,568 from USDA Forest Service.

Professor Cengiz Ozkan as PI for an ongoing grant titled "DNA Assembly Integration to Block Co-Polymers," received a continuation award to the tune of $55,000 from the University of Massachusetts (Prime Sponsor: National Science Foundation). His co-PI on this grant is Professor Mihri Ozkan from the Electrical Engineering Department.

Professor Chris Dames as PI for an ongoing grant titled "nanostructured Materials for Power-Thermoelectrics," received a continuation award to the tune of $37,763 from the Research Triangle Institute.

 

Professor Aguilar Receives 3 Phase Contract from Lumenis Ltd.

August 17, 2009

We are very pleased to announce that Guillermo Aguilar is the PI for a new grant titled “Model for Performance Assessment of LS Duet ET and HS,” funded by the Lumenis Ltd. (INCL COHERENT, ESC MEDICAL GROUP). The award is effective July 27, 2009. This contract represents the 1st phase of a project that will be funded in three phases. This phase is focused on the development of a mathematical/numerical model to simulate 810 nm pulsed laser irradiation and distribution within human skin. The purpose is to assess and optimize the performance of a medical laser device which is primarily used for laser epilation. This device combines auxiliary parallel contact cooling and skin suction procedures in current treatment protocols, which has been one of the subjects of study in Guillermo’s lab over the past few years. Subsequent phases will focus on model validation and effectiveness through clinical studies, respectively.

Congratulations and good luck to Guillermo on phase 1!

CE-CERT Awards Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Annemarie Fata with the Roberta Nichols-Yakel Scholarship

August 4, 2009

The Department of Mechanical Engineering would like to congratulate Annemarie Fata, on her outstanding achievement. Annemarie, was awarded the Roberta Nichols-Yakel Scholarship in the amount of $1,000. She is studying environmental flow under the supervision of Professor Marko Princevac. The department is very proud of Annemarie and the outstanding quality of her academic performance and research.

Aguilar is Awarded Grant from the UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee

August 4, 2009

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is very pleased to announce that Guillermo Aguilar is the PI for a new grant titled “Experimental Assessment of Laser-Assisted Cryosurgery: Ex-vivo and In-vivo Studies,” funded by the UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee. The award is for $43,660 for the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

Congratulations Guillermo!

Garay is Awarded Another Grant from the Army Research Office

August 3, 2009

The Department of Mechanical Engineering very pleased to announce that Javier Garay is the PI for a new equipment grant titled “Increasing the Capabilities of the Spark Plasma Sintering System: Adding gas Process Control and Glove Box Features,” funded by the Army Research Office. The award is for $55,070 for the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

Congratulations to Javier!

Venkatram and Princevac Receive New Grants

July 27, 2009

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is very pleased to announce that Akula Venkatram is the PI for a new grant titled "Improving understanding of regional and near-source air quality impacts of distributed generation sources," funded by the California Energy Commission. The award is for a total of $650,000 for the period July 15, 2009 through March 1, 2013. One of the principals is Marko Princevac who will be working with Venky on the plume rise component of this project. We are also happy to announce that Marko Princevac is the lead PI on a project titled "Superfog formation: laboratory experiments and model development" that is funded by the Joint Fire Sciences Program and administered by the USDAFS. This project runs from July 2009 through June 2012 and is for a total of $247,436. Marko's Co-I's on this project are Shankar Mahalingam and Akula Venkatram.
Congratulations to Venky and Marko!

Dames and Stahovich Receive New NSF Grants

July 13, 2009

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is very pleased to announce that Chris Dames and Tom Stahovich are both lead PI's on National Science Foundation grant awards they have recently received. Chris's project titled "Measuring Thermal Conductivity of Graphene," is in collaboration with Jeanie Lau in Physics and commenced officially on July 1, 2009. His award is for $314,730 for a period of 3 years. Tom's project titled "Transforming Statics Instruction through the Creation and Evaluation of Efficient and Effective Practice Experiences," is in collaboration with Bob Calfee in the school of education. Their work officially gets underway on October 1, 2009. The award is for $399,695 for a period of 3 years.

Congratulations to both Chris and Tom!

UCR Students Have the Right Formula for Competition Bourns College of Engineering seniors get the checkered flag in building a race car from the ground up as part of the annual SAE Collegiate Design Series.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) - A team of 13 UCR graduating seniors took a victory lap at the California Speedway in Fontana to end a year-long project. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) at the Bourns College of Engineering successfully completed a competition to design and build a formula race car. A total of 81 universities from around the world made the trek to Fontana's Auto Club Speedway from June 17 through 20 to be judged on design and endurance.

Out of the 81 entries, 35 passed the safety and technical examination, including UCR's team. Teams participating this year came from the United States, Canada, China, Korea, India and Mexico. More