Month: August 2025

09.19.25 Ric Duncanson – Marc-Antoni Racing

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Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System For Commercial And Military Aircrafts

Date: September 19, 2025; Time: 2:30 PM Location: PWEB 175

Abstract: Decarbonizing long-haul air travel is essential to climate change mitigation but remains difficult because present alternatives to fossil fuels are constrained by energy density, mass, packaging, infrastructure, manufacturing readiness, and entrenched operating practices. Hybrid-electric propulsion offers a pragmatic near term pathway by pairing high-specific-energy liquid fuels with electric machines and power electronics to cut fuel burn and emissions while enabling novel engine airframe integration. Our discussions examines how the aerospace and defense start-up Marc-Antoni is developing a hybrid-electric propulsion system for single-aisle aircraft and evaluate its commercial viability across performance, weight, safety, certification, maintainability, and cost. The analysis focuses on core technologies, high efficiency generators and motors, propulsion system configurations, energy storage, and outlines a maturation roadmap. Our discussions also assesses defense applications. Confronted by growing threats from unmanned aerial systems and advanced missiles, the U.S. military is increasing its demand for non-kinetic, high-speed effects such as directed-energy weapons. These systems are limited by onboard power generation, power quality, and heat rejection. We will explore hybrid-electric architectures which could be adapted to combat aircrafts to provide higher continuous and pulsed electrical power with improved thermal margins, thereby enabling advanced electronic warfare and directed-energy capabilities.

Biographical Sketch: Ric Duncanson, a serial tech entrepreneur, is the founder of Marc-Antoni, an aerospace & defense start-up developing hybrid electric propulsion systems for civil and military aviation applications. Ric is an expert in technology transfer and the evaluation of intellectual property for commercialization, as evidenced by his acquisition of over 10 patents, ranging from lithium-ion cell components to a novel turbofan design. From 2017 to 2020, Ric was a member of the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) program where he developed a robotic steering system for high-performance autonomous vehicles, as well as a four-motor full-torque vectoring all-wheel-drive system for high-performance electric race cars. Currently, Marc-Antoni is a member of the University of Connecticut (UConn) Technology Incubator Program (TIP), where the company is developing several research & development projects, including Titanium Niobium Oxide (TNO) lithium-ion cell, partially superconducting machines, and a superconducting turbofan. Although not a formally trained engineer or scientist, Ric considers himself an autodidact, having cultivated profound expertise in the engineering and scientific principles of the various subject matters associated with his innovations.

10.24.25 Dr. Jaime C. Grunlan – Texas A&M University

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Protective Nanocoatings from Polyelectrolytes: Flame Retardancy, Gas Barrier, and High Voltage Insulation

Date: October 24, 2025; Time: 2:30 PM Location: PWEB 175

Abstract: Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly is a conformal coating technology capable of imparting a multiplicity of functionalities on nearly any type of surface in a relatively environmentally friendly way. At its core, LbL is a solution deposition technique in which layers of cationic and anionic materials (e.g. nanoparticles, polymers and even biological molecules) are built up via electrostatic attractions in an alternating fashion, while controlling process variables such as pH, coating time, and concentration. Here we are producing nanocomposite multilayers (50 – 1000 nm thick), having 10 – 96 wt% clay, that can be completely transparent, stop gas permeation, and impart extreme heat shielding to carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. Similar multilayer coatings exhibit very high dielectric breakdown strength and good thermal conductivity, for protection of high voltage electronics. In an effort to impart flame retardant behavior to fabric using fewer processing steps, a water-soluble polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) was developed. This nanocoating is comprised of polyethylenimine and poly(sodium phosphate) and imparts self-extinguishing behavior to cotton fabric in just a single coating step. Adding a melamine solution to the coating procedure as a second step renders nylon-cotton blends self-extinguishing. A PEC of PEI and polyacrylic acid is able to achieve an oxygen transmission rate below 0.005 cm3/m2/day at 100%RH and a thickness of just 2 m. This is an all-polymer foil replacement technology. Examples of bio-based polyelectrolytes (e.g., chitosan and phytic acid), being used for these same applications, will be shown. These coating techniques can be deposited using roll-to-roll processing (e.g., flexographic printing, dip-coating, or spray-coating). Opportunities and challenges will be discussed. Our work in these areas has been highlighted in C&EN, ScienceNews, Nature, Smithsonian Magazine, Chemistry World and various scientific news outlets worldwide.  For more information, please visit my website: https://grunlan-nanocomposites.com/

Biographical Sketch: Dr. Jaime Grunlan is the Leland T. Jordan ’29 Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, where he has worked for more than 20 years. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Chemistry. He is a world leader in organic thermoelectric materials, super gas barrier layers, and environmentally-benign, flame retardant nanocoatings. He holds 17 issued U.S. patents and several EU patents. He has published more than 230 journal papers, with more than 29,000 citations. His work has been highlighted in Smithsonian Magazine, Nature, and the New York Times. He is an Editor of the Journal of Materials Science and Progress in Organic Coatings, and Associate Editor of Green Materials. In 2018, Prof. Grunlan became a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (FASME) and was awarded a doctorate honoris causa (i.e. honorary doctorate) from the University of South Brittany (Lorient, France). In 2023, he became a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (FACS). In 2024, he became Fellow of the Polymer Chemistry (POLY) and Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Divisions of ACS. He also became a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (FNAI) in 2024.

10.10.25 Dr. Sean Bradshaw – Pratt & Whitney

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Powering the Future

Date: October 10, 2025; Time: 2:30 PM Location: PWEB 175

Abstract: Projected demand growth in the aviation sector over the next quarter century is driving the need for greater aircraft fuel efficiency and lower noise footprint.  This presentation will provide a brief overview of Pratt & Whitney’s approach to powering the future of flight, including geared turbofans, hybrid-electric propulsion, technical evaluations of synthetic aviation fuels, and supporting industry collaborations through ASTM on rigorous standards that would enable the commercial use of 100% synthetic aviation fuels.

Biographical Sketch: Dr. Sean Bradshaw is a senior technical fellow at Pratt & Whitney, where his primary focus is the development of advanced propulsion technologies that will power the future of flight. Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture, and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. He also provides strategic and technical leadership to the aviation industry by serving as: the chair of the ASME Committee on Sustainability, an associate editor of the ASME Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, a member of the ASME Heat Transfer Committee, and a member of the Aeronautics & Space Engineering Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Sean earned a B.S., an M.S., and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics & Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Meet Dr. Daniele Vivona, Our New Assistant Professor

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🎉 Welcome Dr. Daniele Vivona! 🎉

We are excited to welcome Dr. Daniele Vivona as an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering and the UConn Center for Clean Energy Engineering at the University of Connecticut!

Dr. Vivona’s research explores atom-level energy conversion processes to develop innovative design solutions for ion transport and interfacial phenomena in advanced energy materials. His work aims to drive forward next-generation electrochemical energy conversion devices, combining physics-based modeling, atomistic simulations, and data-driven approaches to bridge multiple time and length scales.

Dr. Vivona earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where he was a MathWorks Mechanical Engineering Fellow, a Rohsenow Graduate Fellow, and a member of the MIT Society of Energy Fellows. He also holds B.Sc. and M.S. degrees in Energy Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Milan, and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UConn.

MAM Graduate Students Take Top Spot at International ASME Student Hackathon

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The top three teams in the ASME Autodesk Hackathon challenge

A team of graduate students from our School of MAM’s Computational Engineering and Design (CEaD) Lab won first place in the Autodesk challenge at the ASME IDETC/CIE 2025 Student Hackathon, held August 10–17 in Anaheim, California.

Ph.D. students Kiarash Naghavi Khanghah and Hoang Anh Nguyen, advised by Dr. Hongyi Xu, earned the top spot and a $1,400 prize for their innovative solution.

This year’s hackathon drew more than 55 participants from 33 universities across six countries, challenging students to solve real-world problems in design, manufacturing, and simulation.

The UConn team tackled Autodesk’s DesignQA challenge, which tested how well AI systems could read and reason over complex engineering documents. They built a large language model–based framework that improved rule extraction, reduced model hallucinations, and achieved one of the highest scores on the benchmark, securing their first-place win.

UConn Alum Wins ASME Best Dissertation Award

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UConn graduate Zihan Wang (’24 PhD) has been honored with the ASME Design Automation Best Dissertation Award for her groundbreaking research in metamaterials. Her dissertation, “Design, Performance Evaluation and Uncertainty Analysis of Metamaterials,” was completed under the guidance of Dr. Hongyi Xu, Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering.

Dr. Wang’s work introduced new methods to design advanced materials using generative AI, predict their properties with deep learning, and better understand the uncertainties involved in their performance.

The ASME Design Automation Dissertation Award is given to recognize one exceptional Ph.D. dissertation in the field each year—or less often—making it a highly selective honor. Dr. Wang received the award at the ASME 2025 IDETC/CIE Conference, highlighting UConn’s leadership in training researchers to take on today’s most complex engineering challenges.

UConn Researchers Win Distinguished ASME Best Paper Award

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hongyi xu Farhad Imani
Prof. Hongyi Xu and Prof. Farhad Imani

A team of researchers from UConn has received the 2025 ASME Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle (DFMLC) Best Paper Award, a national honor given to only one paper each year. The award was presented at the ASME 2025 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE), held August 10–17 in Anaheim, California.

The winning paper introduces a new artificial intelligence framework that helps detect problems in advanced 3D printing processes, also known as additive manufacturing. By combining powerful language models with scientific data, such as images and text from research articles, the system can automatically spot and explain manufacturing defects without needing prior training on each specific case. The team successfully tested this method on several datasets from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, covering different machines, materials, and conditions.

The research was carried out by Kiarash Naghavi Khanghah, Zhiling Chen, Lela Romeo, Dr. Qian Yang, Dr. Rajiv Malhotra, Dr. Farhad Imani, and Dr. Hongyi Xu, in collaboration across the UConn School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering, the UConn School of Computing, and the Rutgers Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

A preprint of the paper is available through this link https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.13828

MAM Student Pursues In-Depth Research Project as University Scholar

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University Scholar Zhengyang Wei ’26 is exploring ways to improve the stability and performance of aerodynamic designs.

Zhengyang Wei ’26, a mechanical engineering major and University Scholar, is conducting advanced research to improve the stability and efficiency of aerodynamic systems. His project focuses on analyzing shear flows, where fluid layers move at different speeds, to understand and prevent turbulence, a key challenge in fluid dynamics. Using mathematical models and stability theorems, Wei’s work aims to enhance the performance of systems like aircraft by reducing turbulent transitions.

Working under the guidance of faculty members Chang Liu, Reza Sheikhi, and Jason Lee in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering, Wei has already co-published a research paper and received a 2025 Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) award. As a member of the FLUENT Lab and a math minor, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in fluid stability or optimization.

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