College of Engineering Summer 2023 Activity Roundup

Faculty and researchers in the College of Engineering made significant contributions to their fields over the past quarter, publishing studies in highly regarded journals, securing funding for ongoing and future research, and earning recognition for their leadership.

Notable Publications

Joshua Agar, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics, published "The Effect of Chemical Environment and Temperature on the Domain Structure of Free-Standing BaTiO3 via In Situ STEM" in Advanced Science. The research studied the temperature-induced domain behavior of ferroelectric-ferroelastic domains in free-standing BaTiO3 films under different gas environments using in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy.

Nicolas Alvarez, PhD, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, published papers in Langmuir, Composites Part A, and Composite Structures. His research focused on modeling and predicting the spreading dynamics of Newtonian filaments on substrates, interleaving composites to increase fracture toughness, and additively manufacturing and analyzing fiber-reinforced polymer composite sandwich structures using digital light processing 3D printing.

Michel Barsoum, PhD, distinguished professor in materials science and engineering, published papers in Carbon, the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, and Cell Reports Physical Science, the latter with Andrew Magenau, PhD, associate professor of materials science and engineering. His group's research focused on kink boundaries in layered materials, sulfur cathodes for potassium-sulfur batteries, delaminating MXenes using simple bases, synthesizing ferrite nanoparticles, and developing repairable titania-reinforced polymer composites.

Kapil Dandekar, PhD, E. Warren Colehower Chair Professor in electrical and computer engineering, published "Incident Power and Relative Phase Distribution Mapping in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces Using Energy Harvesting" in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. The research presented a novel method of obtaining incident power and relative phase distribution across an intelligent surface using integrated energy harvesting circuits.

Amir Farnam, PhD, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, published "Performance of Soy Methyl Ester-Polystyrene as a Concrete Protectant: A State-of-the-Art Review" in Transportation Research Record. The paper reviewed research on soy methyl ester-polystyrene blends as a concrete surface treatment for reducing water absorption, chloride penetration, and freeze-thaw damage.

Yury Gogotsi, PhD, Distinguished University and Charles T. Bach Professor in materials science and engineering, along with co-researchers in the Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, published papers in Energy Storage Materials, Advanced Materials, ACS Nano, Materials Today, and Ceramics International. The research investigated pillaring MXenes with nanodiamonds for improved supercapacitor performance, fabricating ionotronic MXene films for soft actuators, evaluating MXene stability under sterilization, tuning MXene infrared properties for thermal management, and reviewing progress in MXene synthesis and electronic transport.

Joshua Lequieu, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, published "Combining particle and field-theoretic polymer models with multi-representation simulations" in the Journal of Chemical Physics. The work presented a new approach to combine particle-based and field-theoretic polymer simulations by constraining their density profiles to be equal.

Fei Lu, PhD, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, published papers in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, and IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification. His research focused on high-efficiency modular medium-voltage DC circuit breakers, soft-switching DC circuit breakers, active snubbers for DC circuit breakers, and capacitive wireless charging for electric vehicles based on duality with inductive charging.

Steven May, PhD, professor of materials science and engineering, and Aaron Fafarman, PhD, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, published "Interfacial Topochemical Fluoridation of MAPbI(3) by Fluoropolymers" in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. The research demonstrated fluoride transfer across the interface between a halide perovskite and fluoropolymer, creating lead fluoride species that impact electronic properties.

Ahmad Najafi, PhD, PC Chou assistant professor in mechanical engineering and mechanics, published "Microstructural fatigue fracture behavior of glycated cortical bone" in Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing. The study used phase field fracture modeling to simulate fatigue microdamage accumulation in cortical bone tissue with increased advanced glycation end-products.

Ekaterina Pomerantseva, PhD, associate professor of materials science and engineering, published "Cation-Driven Assembly of Bilayered Vanadium Oxide and Graphene Oxide Nanoflakes to Form Two-Dimensional Heterostructure Electrodes for Li-Ion Batteries" in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. The work assembled vanadium oxide and graphene oxide nanoflakes using lithium cations to form heterostructured electrodes with improved cycling stability for lithium-ion batteries.

Masoud Soroush, PhD, professor of chemical and biological engineering published "Ultra-Flyweight Cryogels of MXene/Graphene Oxide for Electromagnetic Interference Shielding" in Advanced Functional Materials. The research produced lightweight MXene/graphene oxide cryogels with optimized microstructures exhibiting high electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness.

Wei Sun, PhD, Albert Soffa Chair Professor in mechanical engineering and mechanics, published "Reconstruction of tumor microenvironment via in vitro three-dimensional models" in Biofabrication. The review summarized progress in 3D cell culture techniques for modeling tumor microenvironments and investigating cancer biology and therapy responses.

Michael Waring, PhD, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, published "Effective mass accommodation for partitioning of organic compounds into surface films with different viscosities" in Environmental Science-Processes & Impacts. The work extended an effective mass accommodation approach for gas-film partitioning to model the growth of indoor surface films with different viscosities.

Sponsored Research

Cameron Abrams, PhD, Bartlett-Barry Endowed Professor in chemical and biological engineering, has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases for "Combining Molecular Simulations and Biophysical Methods to Characterize Conformational Dynamics of the HIV-1 Envelope Glycoprotein.” The research will use computer modeling and lab experiments to better understand the shape changing ability of the HIV virus shell for vaccine development.

Zhiwei Chen, PhD, assistant professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, has secured funding from the NSF for "RAPID: Impact of Highway Infrastructure Failures on Transit Usage: The Case of the I-95 Bridge Collapse in Philadelphia.” The project will collect travel data after the I-95 bridge collapse to study impacts on public transit use.

Hao Cheng, PhD, associate professor of materials science and engineering, received an award from the NIH for his project “Polymer-Derived Biomaterials for mRNA Delivery to Induce Antigen-Specific Immune Tolerance.” Hypersensitivity is an abnormal immune reaction against harmless environmental antigens or patient’s own antigens, causing allergy or autoimmune diseases, respectively. With this project, the Cheng lab and collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai aim to develop a mRNA delivery system to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance for treating allergy and autoimmune diseases.

Megan Creighton, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, has obtained support from Carnegie Mellon University for "Rapid, High-Detail Additive Manufacturing of Recyclable Thermoplastics.” The project seeks to 3D print intricate plastic parts that can be recycled using a new photopolymerization method. Creighton also received a grant from Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics Inc. for "Production of Vermiform Hexagonal Boron Nitride.” The research investigates making a flexible boron nitride material similar to flexible graphite for heat management uses.

Peter Deak, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, has been awarded funding from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases for "Generating Robust anti-HIV CD8 T cells using HIV-targeted Liposomal Vaccines.” The project aims to use vaccines to develop a strong immune response for eliminating latent HIV reservoirs.

Christine Fiori, PhD, clinical professor in engineering, leadership and society, has been awarded a grant from the NSF for "FW‐HTF‐P: Building Upon New Learning Theories to Attract And Retain The Skilled Workforce Of The Future In The Construction Trades.” The project will identify challenges to adopting new technologies in construction trades education to support an inclusive workforce.

Charles Haas, PhD, LD Betz Professor of Environmental Engineering, has received funding from Balvi Clean Air Initiative for "Development of User Oriented Models for UV222 Disinfection of Indoor Air.” The research will model UV lamp systems to disinfect building air of pathogens.

Joshua Lequieu, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, has been granted funding from BASF Corporation for "Development of a hybrid field-particle simulation code.” The project will develop a simulation code modeling polymer materials.

Steven May, PhD, professor and department head of materials science and engineering, received an award from the U.S. Department of Energy for his project “Controlling Magnetism via Charge-Modifications in Quantum Materials Heterostructures.” The project focuses on understanding magnetism in new quantum materials that hold promise for spintronic devices. Neutron scattering and lab-based magnetometry and magnetotransport will be used to probe the magnetic properties of heterostructures consisting of correlated metal oxides and topological materials.

Michael Waring, PhD, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, has secured a grant from the PA Department of Health for "Minimizing Transmission of COVID-19 and Airborne Disease in Outpatient Clinics.”

Awards and Accolades

Caroline Schauer, PhD , Margaret C. Burns Chair in Engineering and Interim Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, received the 2023 AWIS Elizabeth W. Bingham Award, presented by the Philadelphia chapter of the Association for Women in Science “to a distinguished local scientist who has significantly influenced the advancement of women in science and has served women in science as a mentor and role model.”