MECHANICAL ENGINEERINGGRADUATE PROGRAM

Twenty-one of our professors and associate professors, or more than 55 percent, have served as or are currently serving as editors or chairs/members of editorial boards of archival journals.

Our faculty published 335 papers in archival journals in 2008. Professors J.N. Reddy and Kumbakonam Rajagopal published more than 20 papers each in archival journals, with another 15 accepted for publication.

In 2009, U.S. News & World Report ranked our graduate program 10th and our undergraduate program 9th among public institutions in the U.S.

In academic year 2008-09, our department awarded a total of 25 Ph.D. degrees and 95 master’s degrees.

Our department is home to the Turbomachinery Laboratory, the Polymer Technology Center, and the Energy Systems Laboratory.

From university- and college-level fellowships to departmental fellowships, more than $500,000 is awarded to our graduate students each year.

BY THE NUMBERS

Over the past six years, our department has grown rapidly as we have added more than 30 new tenure/tenure-track faculty to our program. This expansion has allowed us to diversify the faculty and add expertise in new areas, such as nano-materials and plasmas, as well as strengthen some of our traditionally strong research programs. So far, these new faculty have won five NSF CAREER awards, one AFOSR YIP, and one Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. In addition, two other new faculty brought NSF CAREER awards with them from their previous institutions.

Along with the new faculty, our graduate program has grown from 350 students to more than 450 in the past six years, with the number of Ph.D. students and women now at their highest levels ever. Research expenditures continue to grow each year.

As you read over the research accomplishments of a few of our faculty here, I hope you are able to share some of the excitement I have about our outstanding faculty and the impact they are making in their respective fields. Our faculty and students are committed to acquiring new knowledge through cutting edge research to improve the quality of life for generations to come and to meeting the challenges of the future by relying on our greatest tradition: pursuing excellence in all we do.

Dennis L. O’Neal, Ph.D., P.E., Class of ’73 Holdredge/Paul Professor and Head Department of Mechanical Engineering

MESSAGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD

Dr. Kumbakonam RajagopalUniversity Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor, and James M. Forsyth Chair in Mechanical EngineeringPh.D., University of Minnesota, 1978krajagopal@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:• Presented a unified thermodynamic theory for describing the response of classical inelastic bodies,

twinning of solids, solid to solid phase transition, superplasticity, single crystal super alloys, viscoelastic fluids and solids, and crystallization of polymers and shape memory polymers.

• Introduced totally new classes of models via implicit constitutive theories that greatly enlarge the class of constitutive relations that were available, and such models have been used to describe phenomena that have defied description thus far.

• Developed models for the complex response exhibited by geological materials that for the first time have a clear thermodynamic basis.

endowed chairstenured or tenure-track faculty

FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS

Dr. J.N. ReddyUniversity Distinguished Professor and Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr. Chair in Mechanical EngineeringPh.D., University of Alabama in Huntsville, 1973jnreddy@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:As one of the original investigators, Professor J.N. Reddy has provided significant research contributions in various computational nano- and bio- mechanical applications, such as:•Multi-scaleanalysisof carbonnanotube-reinforcedcompositematerials•Formulationandnumericalsimulationof bio-mechanicalproblems•Developmentof robustandefficientcomputationaltechnologyforthesolutionof critical

problems of mechanics, for instance, least-squares based computational algorithms for the analysis of fluid flows, plate and shell structures, and coupled problems

Dr. Je-Chin HanUniversity Distinguished Professor and Marcus C. Easterling Chair in Mechanical EngineeringSc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1976jc-han@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:•Acquiredalargebodyof benchmark-quality,experimental,enhancedinternalcoolingandfilm

cooling data that gas turbine manufacturers have used to calibrate their software for the design of high-performance gas turbine engines.

•Identifiedthemosteffectivefilmcoolingholeconfigurationsforturbinebladetipdesignandturbine platform design.

•Determinedthebestriborientationforrotorbladeleadingedgecoolingdesign.•Assessedtheeffectof shockwaveonsuction-sidefilmcoolingperformance.

Dr. Jerald A. CatonThomas A. Dietz ’31 Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Associate Department HeadPh.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1980 jcaton@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:•Asoneof theoriginalinvestigators,successfullyintroducedaprocesstoremovenitricoxidefrom

exhaust gases using cyanuric acid.•Demonstratedtheimportanceof thesecondlawof thermodynamicsinimprovingtheefficiencies

of reciprocating engine.•Conductedsomeofthefirstcontemporaryinvestigationsoftheuseofcoalfuelsfordieselengines.•Completedaseriesof studiesthathavequantifiedthedestructionof exergyduringthecombustion

process as functions of engine operating and design parameters.

Dr. Luis A. San AndrésMast-Childs Professorship Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1985lsanandres@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:•Enabledthetechnology,modelingwithexperimentalverification,of hybridfluidfilmbearingsfor

reusable cryogenic fluid turbo pumps.•Conductedthemostcompletemeasurementsonsqueezefilmdampersevidencingfundamentaldifferencesbetweenlubricantdynamiccavitationandpersistingairingestionandentrapment.

•Developeduniqueparameteridentificationtechniquesfornonlinearrotor-bearingsystems.•Developedfastnumericaltechniquesforsolutionof fluidflowlubricationproblems,linear

and nonlinear.

Dr. Eric L. PetersenAssociate ProfessorPh.D., Stanford University, 1998epetersen@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:•Acquiredthefirstcomprehensivedatabaseof ignitiondelaytimesformethane,ethane,propane,and

butane fuels, and their blends over a wide range of pressures and temperatures.•Developedafrequency-modulatedlaserabsorptiondiagnosticfortheaccuratedetectionof SiH2in

the presence of soot particles.•Demonstratedtheuseof nano-engineeredtitaniaparticlesforthetailoringof solidpropellant

burning rates.•Compiledthefirstcomprehensivechemicalkineticsmechanismformethaneoxidationathigh

pressures and intermediate temperatures.

Dr. Jaime C. GrunlanAssistant ProfessorPh.D., University of Minnesota, 2001jgrunlan@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:•Demonstratedfirsttrulythermoelectricpolymernanocomposite(ZT>0.01)usingacarbon

nanotube-filled latex.•Creatednanocompositecoating(<100nm),withpositively-chargedpolymerandclay,thatcould

impart anti-flammable behavior to open-celled foam and cotton fabric.•Producedpolymercompositefoilreplacement,withoxygenbarrierthatrivalsSiOxthatwas

useful for food, pharmaceutical and flexible electronics packaging.•UsedpHandtemperaturetocontrolthemicrostructureof carbonnanotubes,stabilizedby

stimuli-responsive polymers, in water-based suspensions.

Dr. Timothy J. JacobsAssistant ProfessorPh.D., University of Michigan, 2005tjjacobs@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:•Assessedthedifferencesbetweenfundamentalandsystemresponseissuesinmanifestingnitricoxideemissiondifferencesbetweenbiodieselandpetroleumdieselfuelsindieselengines.

•Quantifiedthesystem-relatedeffectsonengineperformanceandefficiencywhenusingbiodieselfuel.•Demonstratedupto90%reductionsinnitricoxidesand70%reductionsinparticulatematter

emissions from a light-duty diesel engine using low temperature diesel combustion.

Dr. Debjyoti BanerjeeAssistant ProfessorPh.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1999dbanerjee@tamu.edu

Significant Research Accomplishments:•Demonstrated60%enhancementinnucleatepoolboilingand300%enhancementinfilmboilingusingcarbonnanotube(CNT)coatings,and120%enhancementincriticalheatfluxusingsiliconnano-fins.

•Observed40%enhancementinperformanceof compactheatexchangersusingCNTnano-fluids.•Demonstrated100%enhancementinperformanceof compactcondensersusingCNTcoatings.•Developedaroom-temperaturesynthesistechniqueforCNTatambientconditionsusingdippennanolithography(DPN)withtheabilitytocontrolchiralityof CNT.

A Unified Thermodynamic Framework for Describing the Response of Non-Linear Solids and Fluids Undergoing Entropy Producing ProcessesA general thermodynamic framework has been used to describe widely disparate material behavior. The framework provides a method for obtaining non-linear generalizations of “Onsager’s principle”, has the ability to generalize “Avrami’s equation” for crystallization kinetics, and provides a natural way of incorporating constraints as constitutive relations rather than additional conditions that need to be enforced. Dr. K.R. Rajagopal

Advanced Engine Research The Advanced Engine Research Laboratory has the long-range purpose of advancing energy conversion for internal combustion engines, which is met through fundamental experimental and theoretical investigations of in-cylinder combustion processes, the coupling to advanced concepts such as low temperature combustion, and the use of alternative fuels. Dr. Timothy J. Jacobs

Development of Diagnostic Systems for Air Brakes in TrucksAn on-board brake monitoring system for enhancing the safety of trucks on the roads is being designed and constructed. The system is based on the development of algorithms for detecting leaks and estimating the stroke of the pushrod in the air brake system of a truck. Dr. K.R. Rajagopal and Dr. Swaroop Darbha

Thermodynamic Engine Cycle Simulations Including the Use of the Second LawThis research has resulted in original engine simulations for spark-ignition engines that have been usedinalargenumberofinvestigations.Thesesimulationshavebeenusedtostudytheeffectofenginedesignandoperatingparametersonperformance,efficiencyandnitricoxideemissions.Dr. Jerald A. Caton

Bio-Mechanical Analysis of Tumor TissueThis research aims to develop a multiscale computational model of breast tumor tissue to study the correlation of breast density on tumor progression and diagnosis, and also provide insights into complex tumor mechanisms using computational modeling. Dr. J.N. Reddy

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Gas Bearings for Oil-Free TurbomachineryThe objective of this research is to deploy gas-bearing technology into sustainable micro turbomachinery, near friction free, with a lower footprint, and environmentally sound by eliminating mineral oil-based contaminants. Dr. Luis A. San Andrés

Ignition and Flame Speed Chemistry of Hydrocarbon Fuel BlendsWiththeever-increasingdemandsforfuelefficiencyandalternativeenergysources,knowledgeofthe fundamental combustion properties of fuels and fuel blends is extremely important for the proper design and operation of power generation systems for energy production and vehicular propulsion. Dr. Eric L. Petersen

Heat Transfer in Turbine Blade Internal Coolant Passages at High Rotation NumbersThis project focuses on internal heat transfer for advanced gas turbine blades with realistic coolant passage geometries, including the blade leading-edge and trailing-edge shapes and orientations, at realistic coolant flow, thermal, and rotating conditions. Dr. Je-Chin Han

Thermoelectric Polymer Nanocomposites Polymers are intrinsically poor electrical conductors, which has excluded them for thermoelectric applications. By adding single-walled carbon nanotubes to latex, the resulting polymer nanocomposites become truly thermoelectric.Dr. Jaime C. Grunlan

Harnessing Micro/Nano-Scale Multi-Phase Flows for Enhanced Transport PropertiesThis research focuses on heat and mass transfer for multi-phase flows of nano-fluids over surfacescoatedwithnano-particlesorcarbonnanotubes(CNT).Theapplicationsrangefromhome appliances, electric power generation, and chemical processing to aerospace, military, and homeland security. Dr. Debjyoti Banerjee

University- and College-Level Fellowships • GraduateMeritFellowship,$25,000• GraduateDiversityFellowship,$13,000/year• NationalExcellenceFellowship,$40,000/year• NSFLSAMPBridge-to-the-DoctorateFellowship,$30,000/year• RegentsGraduateFellowship,$7,600

GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS

Departmental Fellowships: $5,000 to $15,000• AppliedMaterialsGraduateFellowship• SallyandRayBowen’58Fellowship• EmilBuehlerAerospaceFellowship• CharlesW.CrawfordGraduateFellowship• RobertH.FletcherGraduateFellowship• LindaD.andJoeR.FowlerFellowship• GraduateMechanicalEngineeringFellowship• Kozik-HerveyFellowship• EddieandJoeMattei’53Fellowship• PhillipsFellowship• ArunaandJ.N.ReddyDistinguishedFellowship• ReedToolCompanyFellowship• J.GeorgeH.ThompsonGraduateFellowship

The Department of Mechanical Engineering has one of the largest and most diverse graduate programs in the United States.

From left to right: Rodrigo Cooper (Ph.D. student), Alaina Jones (Ph.D. student), Josh Camp (M.S. student), Shu Jiang (Ph.D. student), Aracely Rocha (Ph.D. student), Brandon Tompkins (Ph.D. student), Nicole Donato (M.S. student), and Benjamin Lawrence (Ph.D. student)

In 2008, womenmadeup17.6percent of the graduate enrollment in Texas A&M’s mechanical engineering program. This was second only to UC Berkeley.

This was the largest percentage among the Top 15 public programs.

Source: Women and minority enrollments in U.S. News & World report Top 15 public graduate mechanical engineering programs in the U.S. are based on 2005-2008 enrollment data from ASEE.

From 2005-2008, the number of females in Texas A&M’s mechanical engineering graduate program rose by 53 students. This was the largest growth among the Top 15 public programs. 2005

2006

2007

2008

In 2008, minorities accounted for 22.7 percent of the domestic graduate enrollment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

DIVERSITY

Mr.KhalidA.Al-Falih(Classof ’82)PresidentandChiefExecutiveOfficer,SaudiAramco Dr.StuartR.Bell(Ph.D.,1986) Dean, School of Engineering, University of Kansas Former Professor and Head, Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Dr.RayBowen(Ph.D.,1961) Sara and John H. Lindsey ’44 Chair, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University President Emeritus, Texas A&M University ProfessorAaronCohen(Classof ’52) Member of the National Academy of Engineering Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University Former Director, NASA-Johnson Space Center Dr.AtilaErtas(Ph.D.,1984) Professor and Director of Academy for Transdisciplinary Studies, Mechanical Engineering, Texas Tech University Dr.L.S.‘Skip’Fletcher(Classof ’58) Regents Professor and TEES Professor of Engineering, Texas A&M University Former Director of Aeronautics, NASA-Ames Research Center Former President of ABET, ASME, and AIAA

DISTINGUISHED FORMER STUDENTS

Dr.MatthewA.Franchek(Ph.D.,1991)Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston Former Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University Dr.RoyE.Hogan,Jr.(Ph.D.,1984) DistinguishedMemberofTechnicalStaff, Sandia National Laboratories Dr.OzdenOchoa(Ph.D.,1980) Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University FormerAssociateDean,OfficeofGraduateStudies, Texas A&M University Dr.JayM.Ochterbeck(Ph.D.,1993) Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University Dr.DavidL.E.Ong(Ph.D.,1994) DirectorandChiefExecutiveOfficer,CNAChinaCo.Ltd. Dr.G.P.‘Bud’Peterson(Ph.D.,1985) President, Georgia Institute of Technology Former Chancellor, University of Colorado at Boulder Former Provost, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Each semester, the Department of Mechanical Engineering invites an internationally renowned scholar, researcher, scientist and/or engineer to present a seminar to the faculty and graduate students of the department. Mr. Donald W. Fowler and Dr. Joe R. Fowler endowed this lecture series.

Past speakers of the Fowler Distinguished Lecture Series include Dr. C. Thomas Bowman(StanfordUniversity),Dr. Alan Epstein(MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology),Dr. Woodie Flowers(MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology),Dr. J. Karl Hedrick(UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley),Dr. William Johnson (CaliforniaInstituteofTechnology),Dr. J. Tinsley Oden(UniversityofTexasatAustin),Dr. Robert Stengel(PrincetonUniversity),Dr. David Wisler(GeneralElectricAircraftEngines),andDr.BenZinn(GeorgiaInstituteofTechnology).

Mr.DonaldW.Fowler(Classof’66)pioneeredcompressednaturalgastechnologythat took wellhead natural gas directly to pipelines or end users. He is founder and president of Fowler Energy Company in Austin that develops tailored energy procurement strategies for clients in Texas and throughout the United States. Mr. Fowler is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a registered professional engineer in Texas, and is currently a member of the President’s Council of Advisors at Texas A&M University.

Dr.JoeR.Fowler(Classof’68,Ph.D.,1971)isco-founderandpresidentofStressEngineering Services, Inc., in Houston. The company developed the RAMS (RationalApproachtoAnalysisofMarineSystems),adesignsoftwareformarinesystems.WithofficesinHouston,Cincinnati,NewOrleans,DenverandAtlanta,the engineering consulting firm provides design, analysis and testing services to a variety of industries. Dr. Fowler is currently the chair of the Advisory Council of the Dwight Look College of Engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a registered professional engineer in Texas, and a past president of ABET.

FOWLER DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES

The Dwight Look College of Engineering is the largest college on the Texas A&M campus with more than 10,000 engineering students enrolled in our 12 departments. Our college is consistently ranked among the nation’s top programs. We are also among the top universities in the number of National Merit Scholars, nationally recognized faculty and funded research. The mission of Texas A&M Engineering is to serve Texas, the nation and the global community by providing engineering graduates who are well founded in engineering fundamentals, instilled with the highest standards of professional and ethical behavior, and are prepared to meet the complex technical challenges of society.

Texas A&M University was foundedin1876 and is the State of Texas’ first public institution of higher learning. The campus consists of more than 5,000 acres and is home to a nationally recognized faculty. Texas A&M is one of a select few universities with land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant designations. At Texas A&M, 38,000-plus undergraduates and more than 9,000 graduate students have access to world-class research programs and award-winning faculty. Washington Monthly recently ranked the research-intensive flagship university with 10 colleges first in the nation for “tangible contributions to the public interest.” U.S. News & World Report ranked Texas A&M third nationally as a “best value” among public universities.

Tradition of spirit: Courtyard area of the mechanical engineering buildings features the statue, Menos, Greek for spirit.

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