Prof. David Pierce has been elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), one of the highest honors awarded by the organization. This prestigious recognition celebrates Dr. Pierce’s significant contributions to the field of mechanical engineering, acknowledging years of dedicated research, innovative teaching, and impactful advancements within the discipline. As a Fellow, Prof. Pierce joins an elite group of professionals who have demonstrated exceptional achievements and leadership in mechanical engineering, further enhancing the visibility and impact of their work on a global scale.
News
New Master’s For Digital Design and Manufacturing Innovators
by Claire Tremont
Students can earn this degree remotely from anywhere in the world, offering an accessible path to advanced engineering education
As academia works overtime to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding and evolving industry, one UConn Engineering graduate program is embracing the challenge to educate engineers to innovate with the latest digital design and manufacturing technologies.
The Master of Engineering (MENG) in Digital Design and Manufacturing is a 30-credit online graduate degree for engineers wishing to advance their knowledge in digital tools and models used in modern industries.
Students will learn and master the tools shaping the future of engineering, from digital twins and 3D design software to machine learning and data science, in a part-time program designed for their success.
Together with faculty from the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering, students will benefit from world-class research and teaching capabilities backed by significant funding from the likes of the National Science Foundation and various Departments of Defense, Energy, and Education funding agencies.
Prof. Norato Elected Fellow of the ASME
Prof. Julián Norato has been honored as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The Fellow grade of membership recognizes exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession and to ASME. The recognition was announced at the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences held in Washington D.C. in August, 2024.
Prof. Nguyen receives multiple large grants from the NIH and the Gates Foundation
by Matt Engelhardt
Through millions in coveted grants, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are recognizing how impactful Thanh Nguyen’s research is to the field of biomedical engineering.
Nguyen, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, has already established himself as one of the top-funded researchers at UConn. The NIH is adding to that success by awarding Nguyen four R01 grants totaling more than $9.5 million, with $7.5 million going to UConn researchers.
Fourth Annual Women in STEM Conference Gains Traction
Women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields are experiencing a new period of growth, acceptance, and respect in the modern workforce.
But when UConn alumna Jeanine Armstrong Gouin studied civil engineering in the 1980s, it was hard to feel welcome in an engineering building that didn’t even have a women’s bathroom.
Despite the dreary beginning, Gouin (who graduated in 1987, about four years before the Castleman Building installed women’s restrooms) delivered an inspirational message to an audience of young female STEM students last week.
The Women in STEM Frontiers in Research Expo (WiSFiRE) was held on Friday at the UConn Storrs campus. It brought together university undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, and STEM employees and supporters.
WiSFiRE was one of the first conferences in the region to specifically highlight the work of women researchers in STEM. That mission has been solidified through a recent endowment by Gouin.
Xu Receives the ASME Young Investigator Award
Dr. Xu received the 2024 ASME Design Automation Young Investigator Award in recognition of his research at the intersection of Microstructure Material Design, design for Additive Manufacturing, Design of Mixed Stochasticity Structural Systems, and Uncertainty Quantification.
This award is presented annually to honor an exceptional young investigator making significant contributions in design automation, with a focus on areas such as design representation, optimization, evaluation, and integration. The award was given at the ASME Design Automation Conference, held from August 25-28, 2024, in Washington, DC. The conference gathers international experts in the field of design automation each year.
Driven to Succeed: UConn Formula SAE Makes History with 4th Place Win
The annual competition, organized by SAE International, challenges students to conceive, design, fabricate, develop, and compete with high performance “formula” vehicles.
The UConn Formula SAE team is revved up after earning a record-breaking ranking. During a three-day competition at Michigan International Speedway May 8-11, UConn competed against 118 other national and international teams and placed 4th overall, the highest in UConn’s history.
UConn Formula SAE has 80 members, of which 67 attended the competition at the Michigan International Speedway. This was the most of any team present. (Photo courtesy of Milton Levin)
“The team was totally ecstatic,” explains UConn Formula SAE (FSAE) President and mechanical engineering major Abhiemanyu Sukumaran ’24 (ENG). “As they were announcing the overall places, we heard 8,7,6, etc. Then they called our name, and everyone started jumping and screaming for joy! We celebrated like we won the national championship. It was bliss to have broken the record for our highest placement ever.”
Read more on the UConn Today website.
Prof. Thanh Nguyen Named to the National Academy of Inventors List
Two UConn professors ventured on an unfamiliar journey that took them from the depths of their science labs to the complexities of technology entrepreneurship. One of these professors was Thanh D. Nguyen!
In March, they learned their perseverance paid off: Raman Bahal, Pharmaceutical Sciences associate Professor, and Thanh D. Nguyen, Mechanical and Biomedical engineering associate professor, were among 124 emerging academic entrepreneurs in the U.S. named as 2024 Senior Members National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
They also fit the NAI’s category of underrepresented academic inventors.
“The underrepresented category includes all of our Senior Members that identify as non-white, female, and/or disabled,” says Rebekah Rittenhouse, assistant director of communications at NAI.
Read more in the UConn Today article.
We Welcome 3 New Faculty: Profs. Chisthy, Duduta, and Liu
Dr. Wajid Chishty joined our school as an in-residence Full Professor in January 2023. In the realm of academia, Dr. Wajid Chishty has consistently demonstrated exceptional accomplishments. He earned his MBA in Finance from The University of Karachi in 1991, followed by an MS degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1996. In 2005, he obtained his PH.D in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic & State University.
With over three decades of engineering experience under his belt, Dr. Chishty brings a wealth of expertise to our department. His primary areas of expertise include “gas turbine maintenance”, where he applies his skills to aerospace engines, and combustion research which is a study about how things burn; a field crucial for enhancing the environmental efficiency of aerospace engines.
Beyond his professional achievements, Professor Chishty is an active contributor to academia. Chishty is an educator who has authored numerous publications in topics surrounding engineering mechanics, with a portfolio of more than 50 research papers.
Dr. Chishty is a respected member of several esteemed organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) who are dedicated to promoting “the art, science and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences” (asme.org) worldwide. He is also affiliated with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), a non-profit founded in 1893 aimed at advancing engineering and its education practices. Additionally, Dr Chishy is a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a U.S representative of the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of Aeronautical Sciences.
Mishu Duduta‘s academic journey is truly remarkable. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Material Science from MIT in 2010, demonstrating his early passion for science. Dr. Duduta graduated in 2019 with an Engineering Sciences PhD degree from Harvard University, with a thesis titled “Dielectric Elastomer Actuators as Artificial Muscles for Soft Robotic Applications.” His outstanding research earned him the prestigious Gold Award from the Materials Research Society in 2018 and a nomination for Best Paper at ICRA. Dr. Duduta’s list of awards and grants is extensive, with support from foundations both nationally and internationally. His contributions to research have led to multiple publications and citations, solidifying his presence in the academic world.
Prior to joining UConn in August 2023 as an Assistant Professor, Professor Duduta enriched his academic and professional journey with diverse experiences. After completing his post-doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, Medical Devices Innovation Fellow where he developed a soft robotic tools for neurointervention. He served as an Assistant Professor at The University of Toronto. His pioneering work in developing the biomedical tool showcases his dedication to innovation in the field. Currently, he leads the Duduta Research Group, known for its pioneering work in biomedical robotics and its global recruitment of Ph.D. students.
Chang Liu joined our school as an Assistant Professor in August 2023. Dr. Liu’s educational journey commenced at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2017, where he earned not one, but two Bachelor’s degrees in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering as well as Computer Technology and its Applications. However, Liu’s desire for knowledge did not end there. He continued his educational pursuit, obtaining a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 and a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics and Statistics in 2021 at Johns Hopkins University. In a testament to his dedication and scholarly prowess, Liu successfully completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering also in 2021 at JHU.. Subsequently, he embarked on postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley from 2021 to 2023.
Liu’s research centers on unraveling and harnessing the complex dynamics of fluids and gasses, such as the flow of water in rivers or the turbulence, when the water gets choppy. His primary objectives are to decipher methods for controlling these intricate forces and forecasting their behaviors.