Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Archives - Page 2 of 3

Hodson, Thomas (‘17 - ‘19)

Thomas Hodson is a graduate student in the Mechanical & Aerospace Department advised by Prof. Dan Steingart. Before coming to Princeton, Thomas was a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, specializing in Battery & Fuel Cell technologies. His research involves characterization of structural and electrochemical evolution in electrochemical cells using ultrasonic acoustic methods. Presently, his research focuses on understanding the changes that occur in lithium-ion batteries during an initial break-in period of operation. Thomas received his B.Eng. degree in Chemical Engineering from the City College of New York.

Arnold, Craig (‘08 - ‘13)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Research in the Arnold group primarily focuses on laser processing and transport in materials with particular emphasis on shaping laser-material interactions. The group strives to develop a deep understanding of the fundamental materials and optical physics, in order to have a direct impact on applications at the frontiers of technology in fields ranging from energy to biology and imaging to nanoscience.

Key examples of Arnold’s work in this area include the research and development of optical trap assisted direct-write nanopatterning (Trap and Zap), the tunable acoustic gradient index of refraction (TAG) lens for high-speed varifocal imaging and materials processing, laser direct-write printing for complex materials in biological and energy applications, and solution based printing methods of chalcogenide glass for mid-infrared photonic applications. The research is primarily experimental in nature with a mix of fundamental and applied projects

Zheng, Zhong (‘12 - ‘14)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Zhong has broad interests in energy science, engineering and policy issues. Zhong’s research includes: dynamics of liquid propagation in and leakage from porous reservoirs motivated by Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes; CCS source-sink match, early demonstration, and international collaboration opportunities; coupled decision-making processes on energy technology development among countries and stakeholders considering a possible climate shock; energy system integration, and China energy strategy and policy.

Stein, Celine (‘11 - ‘13)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Celine’s research is on SF₆ detection by lasers with the method Radar REMPI. SF₆ is both a greenhouse gas and analogous to UF₆. UF₆ detection would enable the recognition of clandestine nuclear enrichment facilities and thus allow the development of nuclear energy.

Padilla, Lauren (‘08 - ‘10)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Lauren’s research focused on reducing the uncertainty in climate feedbacks and sensitivity by applying methods from optimization and control theory to simple climate models. Interactions among feedback processes, which enhance or dampen the climate’s basic radiative response to natural and anthropogenic forcing, are not easily investigated in complex coupled climate models. Instead, we developed simple physically-based energy balance models resolving individual feedbacks to study the propagation of uncertainty from feedback to climate response.

Additionally, the simple models’ parameters were formally optimized to reproduce the climate of the past century, which placed constraints on projections of future climate change. Our eventual goal was to provide narrower estimates of the equilibrium climate sensitivity and transient climate response. Before coming to Princeton, Lauren worked on engine control systems for Ford Motor Company and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Krieger, Elena (‘08 - ‘10)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Elena studied materials for energy conversion and storage with a focus on ultracapacitors. Ultracapacitors store energy electrochemically like batteries, but unlike batteries they store energy primarily in the electrical double layer formed between the electrolyte and electrodes of the cell. This feature allows for rapid charge and discharge and high cyclability, resulting in long ultracapacitor lifespans in high power applications such as regenerative breaking in electric vehicles. Elena’s research looked specifically at increasing energy density in the cells by optimizing the feature size on high surface area carbon electrodes in conjunction with novel ionic liquid electrolytes.

Hohman, Tristen (‘12 - ‘14)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Tristen’s research interests lie in understanding the interaction between large scale wind turbines and the complex atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) that covers the Earth’s surface. His primary interest is in vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) because of several advantages they have over their ubiquitous horizontal axis brethren. This research is achieved by implementing flow conditioning techniques in a standard wind tunnel that produce an artificially thick boundary layer so that interactions can be studied at a manageable scale. He hopes that this research will lead to improved wind turbine design and increased efficiencies that will help wind energy achieve a greater share of the global energy budget.

Deng, Sili (Selina) (‘13 - ‘15)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Sili’s research focuses on the combustion characteristics and chemistry of petroleum and alternative fuels including biofuels, which constitute many of the critical issues related to energy and the climate. Experimental investigation is combined with numerical simulation to obtain fuel characteristics considering the complicated coupling process of chemistry and transport. It provides insights for surrogate fuel design, combustion process optimization and pollutant control.

Cannarella, John (‘13 - ‘15)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

John Cannarella is a PhD candidate working under Craig Arnold in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Princeton University. His research interests focus on the broad topic of clean energy production and storage. Specifically, John’s current research activities aim to understand how the mechanical stress that arises during normal lithium-ion battery operation affects the battery’s cycle life. The ultimate goal is to develop lithium-ion energy storage systems with longer cycle/calendar lives, which is critical to making large scale batteries economically viable.

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