Faculty and researchers in the College of Engineering made significant
contributions to their fields over the past quarter, publishing studies in highly regarded journals and securing funding for ongoing and future research.
Michel
Barsoum, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, and
Yong-Jie
Hu, PhD, assistant professor of materials science and
engineering, published "Ion-Exchange Effects in One-Dimensional
Lepidocrocite TiO2: A Cryogenic Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy
and Density Functional Theory Study" in Chemistry of Materials.
The study used cryo-STEM and DFT to show Li, Na, and TMA cation exchange
alters the arrangement and orbital occupancy in self-assembled 1D
lepidocrocite TiO2 nanostructures.
Ivan
Bartoli, PhD, professors of civil, architectural and
environmental engineering, and
Charles
Haas, PhD, LD Betz Professor of Environmental Engineering,
published "Buried Service Line Material Characterization Using Stress Wave
Propagation: Numerical and Experimental Investigations" in
Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation
. The paper explored identifying buried lead water service line materials
through stress wave propagation, showing numerically and experimentally
that leaked waves and received signals vary distinctly for different pipe
materials despite soil effects.
Aviel
Chaimovich, PhD, assistant teaching professor of chemical and
biological engineering, published "Relative Resolution: An Analysis with
the Kullback-Leibler Entropy" in
Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation
. The study demonstrated that the Relative Resolution multiscale approach
can correctly simulate nonpolar liquids while speeding up molecular
dynamics by almost an order of magnitude, and used Kullback-Leibler entropy
analysis to determine ideal parameters.
Amir
Farnam, PhD, associate professor of civil, architectural and
environmental engineering;
Ahmad
Najafi, PhD, PC Chou Assistant Professor in mechanical
engineering and mechanics;
Christopher
Sales, PhD, associate professor of civil, architectural and
environmental engineering; and
Caroline
Schauer, PhD, Margaret C. Burns Chair in Engineering,
co-authored two papers in Construction and Building Materials and
Developments in the Built Environment exploring the use of
endospore-laden polymeric BioFibers for microbially-induced calcium
carbonate precipitation and self-healing in concrete, with the thermal
shock method producing more robust endospores for enhanced healing
performance.
Najafi also published "Transient topology optimization for efficient design
of actively cooled microvascular materials" in
Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
. The study presented a computational framework for optimizing the layout
of microchannels in actively-cooled materials, considering both
steady-state and transient heat transfer to minimize temperature and
cooling time simultaneously.
Christopher
Li, PhD, professor of materials science and engineering,
published "Crystallization of Poly(L-lactic acid) on Water Surfaces via
Controlled Solvent Evaporation and Langmuir-Blodgett Films" in
Langmuir
. The research investigated controlling poly (L-lactic acid)
crystallization into 1D filaments and 2D lamellae on water surfaces by
tuning molecular weight, temperature, and evaporation rate, offering a
unique approach compared to Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers and solution
crystallization.
James
Lo, PhD, associate professor of civil, architectural and
environmental engineering, published "Analyzing the pros and cons of
paper-based 2D drawings in construction: a survey of U.S. construction
professionals" in International Journal of Construction Management
. The survey examined the enduring use of paper drawings on construction
sites, finding they offer reliability advantages that complement the
accessibility of digital methods and could inform hybrid approaches.
Fei
Lu, PhD, assistant professor of electrical and computer
engineering, published "Soft Turn-Off DC Solid-State Circuit Breakers With
Flexible Dual Tripping Schemes" in
IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics
. The paper introduced a solid-state circuit breaker topology combining
fault current bypass and soft turn-off tripping schemes to achieve fast
isolation, suppressed gate oscillations, and reclosing capabilities up to
325 A faults.
Steven
May, PhD, professor and department head of materials science
and engineering, led a study published in Nanoscale that explored
the incorporation of cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni) into titanium carbide
(Ti3C2Tx) MXene nanomaterials. The researchers demonstrated that by
introducing small amounts of Co and Ni into the Ti3C2Tx MXene structure,
they could significantly enhance the material's magnetic properties at room
temperature. This work highlights the possibility of tuning the magnetic
properties of MXenes through chemical modifications, opening up new avenues
for their application in magnetic and spintronic devices.
Franco
Montalto, PhD, professor of civil, architectural and
environmental engineering, published "Microclimatic implications of a
large-scale green roof and high-rise redevelopment in New York City" in
Building and Environment. The study employed ENVI-met simulations
to quantify how the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center green roof and Hudson
Yards redevelopment impacted local air temperature, humidity, and radiant
temperature over time.
Jonathan
Spanier, PhD, professor and department head of mechanical
engineering and mechanics, published "Structure and phase transitions in
niobium and tantalum derived nanoscale transition metal perovskites,
Ba(Ti,MV)O3, M=Nb,Ta" in Journal of Chemical Physics. The study
prepared single-phase Ba(Ti,Nb)O3 and Ba(Ti,Ta)O3 nanocrystals exhibiting
reversible phase transitions and used PDF analysis to examine their
nanoscale double perovskite vs disordered cubic structures.
Wei
Sun, PhD, Albert Soffa Chair Professor in mechanical
engineering and mechanics, published studies in Biofabrication,
International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, and
ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
on topics including optimizing GelMA bioink printing for drug delivery,
assembling vascularized organotypic tissues, and 3D printing drug-loaded
cervical implant scaffolds, demonstrating the potential of advanced
biofabrication techniques for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Maureen
Tang, PhD, and
Nicolas
Alvarez, PhD, associate professors of chemical and biological
engineering, published "Impact of Mixing Shear on Polymer Binder Molecular
Weight and Battery Electrode Reproducibility" in the Swiss journal
Batteries
. The research showed high shear mixing causes polymer scission that
enables colloidal gel formation in both high and low molecular weight PVDF
battery slurries, but can increase electrode variability.
Additionally, Alvarez published a study in the
Journal of Composite Materials
investigating how the properties of the matrix and interleaf resins affect
the overall toughness of interleaved composite materials. Interleaving is a
technique used to enhance the fracture toughness between layers in
composite materials. The study found that the ratio of the matrix resin
toughness to the interleaf resin toughness plays a crucial role in
determining the effectiveness of the interleaving process. These findings
provide valuable insights for designing and manufacturing high-performance
composite materials with enhanced fracture resistance
James
Tangorra, PhD, professor of mechanical engineering and
mechanics, published "Fish robotics: multi-fin propulsion and the coupling
of fin phase, spacing, and compliance" in
Bioinspiration & Biomimetics
. The experiments and simulations revealed that the spacing, phase
difference, and compliance of paired fish-like robotic fins dramatically
affect propulsive force generation, with implications for designing
efficient multi-finned swimming robots.
Steven
Weber, PhD, professor of electrical and computer engineering
and vice provost for undergraduate curriculum and education, published
"Triglycerides Stabilize Water/Organic Interfaces of Changing Area via
Conformational Flexibility" in Langmuir. The research used NMR and
TEM to show triglycerides can stabilize shrinking water/organic interfaces
during liposome formation by transitioning conformations, with implications
for membrane dynamics and drug delivery.
Jin
Wen, PhD, associate dean for research and innovation,
published "A hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testbed for cyber-physical energy
systems in smart commercial buildings" in
Science and Technology for the Built Environment
. The paper developed a HIL testbed comprising real-time building/HVAC
emulators, controllers, and servers to test control strategies, fault
detection, cyber security, and more prior to real-world deployment in smart
buildings.
Sponsored Research
Joshua Lequieu, PhD, assistant professor of chemical and biological, has been awarded a
Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF)
in support of his project
"Chemically specific polymer models with field-theoretic simulations."
Lequieu is developing a new computational approach to simulate how changes
at the molecular level influence the overall structure and properties of
polymer materials.
Steven Weber, PhD, professor of electrical and computer
engineering and vice provost for undergraduate curriculum and education,
and
Lifeng
Zhou, PhD, assistant professor of electrical and computer
engineering, received an award from FAA for their project titled “FAA
ASSURE A71: Conduct Safety Risk Management Analysis on Small Unmanned
Aircraft Detect and Avoid Systems.” This collaborative project includes
three other ASSURE schools: Kansas State University, University of North
Dakota, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. New and refined safety
analysis methods are needed to assess potential hazards for remotely
piloted aircraft (UA) Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems. This research will
develop analysis tools and methods of risk assessment for small remotely
piloted DAA systems that enable safety optimization of DAA design and
operations. This information will aid the development of DAA industry
standards. This information will also aid the FAA in performing safety risk
assessments on DAA industry standards and applicant requests for
operational approval.
A collaborative project between Drexel University – led by
Jin Wen, PhD, associate dean for research and innovation – and Texas A&M, with Fort
Cavazos Base, received support from the Environmental Security Technology
Certification Program. The goal of the project is to demonstrate the design
and operation of an efficient thermal microgrid through retrofitting and
upgrading existing district energy systems at Fort Cavazos to improve
energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in DoD installations.