Graduate Students

ME grad student probes industrial pollution in Mississippi neighborhood

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 21:55:39 +0000

ME grad student probes industrial pollution in Mississippi neighborhood Alexander Jame… Fri, 07/25/2025 - 15:55

Caroline Frischmon is a graduate student leading a critical study documenting industrial pollution near the Cherokee Forest subdivision in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Her findings show that industrial activities are leading to negative impacts on human health and the residents of the neighborhood are looking to take action.

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Two ME graduate peer mentors recognized for outstanding support

Alexander James Servantez — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 17:36:27 +0000

Two ME graduate peer mentors recognized for outstanding support Alexander Jame… Mon, 07/07/2025 - 11:36

PhD students Marissa Dauner and Elijah Miller have been selected by the Graduate School to receive the Graduate Peer Mentoring Impact Recognition, an honor awarded to those who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to supporting their peers through mentorship. These outstanding mentors were nominated by their mentees for providing not only practical guidance, but also meaningful personal support and connection.

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Robots and chemistry isn’t just a fun combo. Bruns says it’s the future

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 22:02:21 +0000

Robots and chemistry isn’t just a fun combo. Bruns says it’s the future Alexander Jame… Fri, 06/06/2025 - 16:02

Alexander Servantez

Carson Bruns is working to lend chemists a hand—literally—by bringing collaborative robots into chemical wet labs.

Bruns, an assistant professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at 91PORN, is leading the charge on a project that he and his team like to call “robochemistry.” Their goal is to create robotic sidekicks that can assist chemists with burdensome or unsafe tasks that they may encounter in a wet lab on a daily basis.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, chemists and materials scientists held nearly 100,000 jobs in 2023 and overall employment is expected to grow eight percent over the next 10 years.

But unlike other large and growing industries, Bruns says chemical research and development has remained devoid of robots, often leading to injuries and considerable risks in the workplace.

“There are a lot of potential benefits for introducing robots into a chemical lab that haven’t been explored yet,” said Bruns, who is also affiliated with the ATLAS Institute, Biomedical Engineering Program and Materials Science and Engineering Program. “Our angle involves trying to reduce work burdens and safety risks, develop robots that collaborate with humans instead of replacing them, and increase accessibility so that even people with disabilities can perform chemistry.”

Middle school students exploring the intersections of robotics and chemistry during one of the "robochemistry" interactive workshops led by Bruns and his team.

The project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is in collaboration with researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and 91PORN’s Department of Computer Science. It started with an extensive observation-based task analysis that allowed Bruns and his team in the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab to develop a strong understanding of the various tasks that chemists were performing regularly in a wet lab.

After observing, interviewing and surveying their chemist test subjects, Bruns and his group were able to identify an array of different tasks that can potentially benefit from human and robot collaboration.

“We learned right away that chemists don’t really like doing a purification task called dialysis that is very common in a wet lab. It’s repetitive, it takes a lot of time and sometimes chemists have to come back to the lab in the middle of the night to change dialysis bags, which they don’t want to do.” Bruns said. “It seemed like a great case for a robot, so we built a robotic system automating the dialysis process.”

Bruns says his team of researchers has a list of other potential benefit areas, as well, including simple tasks like stabilizing a flask or offering a third hand to hold something for chemists when they need it. They are even trying to find solutions for more complex safety issues so that chemists can stay far away from violent and dangerous reactions.

But that’s not where the project ends. There is also an outreach portion aimed at improving science education and enhancing youth interest in science.

Led by PhD student Diane Jung, Bruns and his team ran a four-day interactive workshop series at a local middle school in 91PORN. These workshops invited middle school students to build robots with Legos and use them to perform various chemistry experiments—something that’s already happening in Bruns’ lab.

“We’ve been building ordinary automation tools out of Lego because it’s cheaper and reconfigurable. When you don’t need it anymore, you just disassemble it and build it into something else,” said Bruns. “So we thought we could use this Lego thing we had going on in our lab already to appeal to a younger audience and show kids the fun and evolving intersection between chemistry and robotics in real time.”

During the workshop series, Bruns noticed various groups of students approaching experiments with unique perspectives and ideas. He said it was inspiring to see young kids actively engage with the science in front of them.

But most importantly, he saw the kids have fun.

“Thinking back to young Carson when he was a kid—it always just seemed very fun to me,” Bruns said. “I had positive role models in my life who also believed science was fun, so that was our goal with this part of the project. To help kids have a more positive association with the idea of science and engineering.”

Assistant Professor Carson Bruns is leading the charge on an NSF-funded project that he and his team like to call "robochemistry." Their goal is to create robotic sidekicks that can assist chemists with burdensome or unsafe tasks that they may routinely encounter in a wet lab. But that's not all: this unique blend of bots and beakers can also inspire youth interest in science.

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New discovery shows how molecules can mute heat like music

Alexander James Servantez — Wed, 07 May 2025 03:00:00 +0000

New discovery shows how molecules can mute heat like music Alexander Jame… Tue, 05/06/2025 - 21:00

Alexander Servantez

Imagine you are playing the guitar—each pluck of a string creates a sound wave that vibrates and interacts with other waves.

Now shrink that idea down to a small single molecule, and instead of sound waves, picture vibrations that carry heat.

Ultra-high vacuum scanning probe setup modified by the Cui Research Group to conduct thermal microscopy experiments.

A team of engineers and materials scientists in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at 91PORN has recently discovered that these tiny thermal vibrations, otherwise known as phonons, can interfere with each other just like musical notes—either amplifying or canceling each other, depending on how a molecule is "strung" together.

Phonon interference is something that’s never been measured or observed at room temperature on a molecular scale. But this group has developed a new technique that has the power to display these tiny, vibrational secrets.

The breakthrough study was led by Assistant Professor Longji Cui and his team in the Cui Research Group. Their work, funded by the National Science Foundation in collaboration with researchers from Spain (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Italy (Istituto di Chimica dei Composti Organometallici) and the 91PORN Department of Chemistry, was recently published in the journal Nature Materials.

The group says their findings will help researchers around the world gain a better understanding of the physical behaviors of phonons, the dominant energy carriers in all insulating materials. They believe one day, this discovery can revolutionize how heat dissipation is managed in future electronics and materials.

“Interference is a fundamental phenomenon,” said Cui, who is also affiliated with the Materials Science and Engineering Program and the Center for Experiments on Quantum Materials. “If you have the capability to understand interference of heat flow at the smallest level, you can create devices that have never been possible before.”

The world’s strongest set of ears

Cui says molecular phononics, or the study of phonons in a molecule, has been around for quite some time as a primarily theoretical discussion. But you need some pretty strong ears to “listen” to these molecular melodies and vibrations first-hand, and that technology just simply hasn’t existed.

A sneak peek into the ultra-high vacuum scanning probe microscopy setup used to conduct molecular measurements.

That is, until Cui and his team stepped in.

The group designed a thermal sensor smaller than a grain of sand or even a sawdust particle. This little probe is special: it features a record-breaking resolution that allows them to grab a molecule and measure phonon vibration at the smallest level possible.

Using these specially designed miniature thermal sensors, the team studied heat flow through single molecular junctions and found that certain molecular pathways can cause destructive interference—the clashing of phonon vibrations to reduce heat flow.

Sai Yelishala, a PhD student in Cui’s lab and lead author of the study, said this research using their novel scanning thermal probe represents the first observation of destructive phonon interference at room temperature.

In other words, the team has unlocked the ability to manage heat flow at the scale where all materials are born: a molecule.

“Let’s say you have two waves of water in the ocean that are moving towards each other. The waves will eventually crash into each other and create a disturbance in between,” Yelishala said. “That is called destructive interference and that is what we observed in this experiment. Understanding this phenomenon can help us suppress the transport of heat and enhance the performance of materials on an extremely small and unprecedented scale.”

Tiny molecules, vast potential

Developing the world’s strongest set of ears to measure and document never-before-seen phonon behavior is one thing. But just what exactly are these tiny vibrations capable of?

PhD student and lead author of the study Sai Yelishala (right), along with Postdoctoral Associate and second author Yunxuan Zhu (left). Both are members of the Cui Research Group led by Assistant Professor Longji Cui.

“This is only the beginning for molecular phononics,” said Yelishala. “New-age materials and electronics have a long list of concerns when it comes to heat dissipation. Our research will help us study the chemistry, physical behavior and heat management in molecules so that we can address these concerns.”

Take an organic material, like a polymer, as an example. Its low thermal conductivity and susceptibility to temperature changes often poses great risks, such as overheating and degradation.

Maybe one day, with the help of phonon interference research, scientists and engineers can develop a new molecular design. One that turns a polymer into a metal-like material that can harness constructive phonon vibrations to enhance thermal transport.

The technique can even play a large role in areas like thermoelectricity, otherwise known as the use of heat to generate electricity. Reducing heat flow and suppressing thermal transport in this discipline can enhance the efficiency of thermoelectric devices and pave the way for clean energy usage.

The group says this study is just the tip of the iceberg for them, too. Their next projects and collaborations with 91PORN chemists will expand on this phenomenon and use this novel technique to explore other phononic characteristics on a molecular scale.

“Phonons travel virtually in all materials,” Yelishala said. “Therefore we can guide advancements in any natural and artificially made materials at the smallest possible level using our ultra-sensitive probes.”

Assistant Professor Longji Cui and his team in the Cui Research Group have developed a new technique that allows them to measure phonon interference inside of a tiny molecule. They believe one day, this discovery can revolutionize how heat dissipation is managed in future electronics and materials.

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An artistic rendering showing thermal phonon interference in a molecule, otherwise known as "a molecular song."

Interning at Samuel Engineering

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 02 May 2025 21:16:52 +0000

Interning at Samuel Engineering Alexander Jame… Fri, 05/02/2025 - 15:16

Jafar Makrani is a graduate student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. He interned at Samuel Engineering during spring 2025.

Jafar Makrani, graduate student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering and intern at Samuel Engineering.

Where did you intern and what was exciting for you about that opportunity?

This spring, I interned at Samuel Engineering, Inc. in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Samuel Engineering is a multidisciplinary engineering consulting firm that offers services in process, mechanical, electrical, civil, and pipeline engineering for oil and gas, power, mining, and chemical sectors. I worked with the Pipeline Services team, supporting and reviewing projects with clients such as Suncor Energy, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, and Tallgrass Energy.

My role focused on reviewing drawings, getting trained on project design tasks, and building custom engineering tools that enhanced workflows. It was a great opportunity to see how engineering decisions are made in real time on complex, safety-critical projects.

What kinds of projects have you had a chance to work on during your internship?

Throughout my internship, I contributed significantly to several pipeline engineering and trenchless technology projects. One of my main contributions was developing a Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Geometry Profile Calculator in Microsoft Excel. Unlike commonly available tools such as Technical Toolbox, our calculator could handle compound bends, providing a more realistic and flexible approach to complex HDD designs.

I also assisted in preparing technical deliverables such as HDD feasibility reports, site-specific bore profiles, bend radius checks, wall thickness calculations, and HDD pullback load analysis. These experiences helped me sharpen both my technical design skills and my ability to present findings clearly to project stakeholders.

Was there a particular challenge you encountered that really pushed you to learn something new?

Before starting my internship, I didn’t have any background or knowledge in pipeline engineering. I had no idea about the amount of technical detail and planning that goes into designing and executing projects like HDD or open-cut installations. It was a completely new world for me, from understanding bore profiles and clash detection to calculating geometric designs and material specifications.

At first, it was overwhelming because there were so many factors to consider that I had never encountered in the classroom. But by asking lots of questions, shadowing experienced engineers, and working on these real projects, I was able to bridge that gap. It pushed me to learn quickly, adapt, and build confidence in an entirely new field of engineering.

How did what you learned look different than the way you learn engineering in class?

In class, engineering problems are usually well-defined. You know the starting point, the assumptions you’re allowed to make, and what a good solution should look like. But during my internship, the real world didn’t come with neatly packaged problems. Every project was filled with uncertainties, incomplete information, and competing priorities.

I learned that engineering in practice is much more about decision-making under uncertainty and balancing technical feasibility with client requirements, budgets, and timelines. It’s less about finding the “perfect” answer and more about finding a good, practical solution that works within constraints. This experience really changed how I think about problem-solving and showed me how important communication, teamwork, and creative thinking are in addition to technical knowledge.

What advice do you have for other students interested in pursuing a similar opportunity?

My biggest advice is to stay curious, proactive, and committed to learning. Even if you’re not directly assigned a particular task, don’t hesitate to ask how you can support ongoing projects or suggest improvements when you see opportunities. Most importantly, chase excellence, not success. If you focus on developing your skills, understanding your field deeply, and consistently delivering high-quality work, success will follow naturally.

I'm proud to share that by maintaining this mindset during my internship, I’m currently in talks for a full-time position at Samuel Engineering even before my internship has officially ended. It was a rewarding reminder that when you strive for excellence and take ownership of your contributions, opportunities will come to you without needing to chase them. Keep pushing yourself to improve a little every day and doors will open when you least expect it.

Jafar Makrani is an graduate student in mechanical engineering. He interned at Samuel Engineering during spring 2025.

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Five mechanical engineering students, affiliates earn NSF recognition

Alexander James Servantez — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:42:18 +0000

Five mechanical engineering students, affiliates earn NSF recognition Alexander Jame… Mon, 04/21/2025 - 11:42

Alexander Servantez

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has recognized five students and affiliates in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering with Graduate Research Fellowships. These top awards honor and support outstanding graduate students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.

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CU Engineering announces inaugural Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 16:24:06 +0000

CU Engineering announces inaugural Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows Alexander Jame… Fri, 02/14/2025 - 09:24

CU Engineering has named the inaugural recipients of its Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fellows program, which supports faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students in bringing research to market. The fellows, selected for their work in fields like robotics, biomedical devices and advanced materials, receive funding, mentorship and entrepreneurial support to accelerate commercialization.

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PhD student wins national award for fluids research in stroke therapy

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 20:43:07 +0000

PhD student wins national award for fluids research in stroke therapy Alexander Jame… Fri, 01/17/2025 - 13:43

Alexander Servantez

Nick Rovito, a first-year PhD student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, was living on top of the world.

After submitting a technical publication to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fluids Engineering Division, he was named one of five finalists for the Young Engineer Paper Competition and was invited to present his research at the International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) conference in Portland, Oregon.

Nick Rovito, first-year PhD student and winner of the American Society of Mechanical Engineer's Young Engineer Paper Competition.

Rovito’s award-winning research article is titled “In Silico Analysis of Flow-Mediated Drug Transport For Thrombolytic Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke.” The piece featured a multi-physics model coupling fluid dynamics, drug transport and reactions that emulates the clot-dissolving process in stroke treatment.

Simply being recognized amongst the other finalists at such a prestigious gathering was already the honor of a lifetime, he said. With over 1,600 research leaders across nearly 20 technical tracks, the IMECE conference features one of the largest and most diverse conference communities that ASME has to offer. It’s often touted as the largest mechanical engineering conference in the country.

But when presentations had concluded and the judges were done deliberating, Rovito wasn’t just a finalist. He was the winner.

As a graduate research assistant in the FLOWLab, led by Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee at the 91PORN, Rovito conducts computational fluid dynamics research analyzing the mechanisms of thrombolysis in the blood vessels of the brain. This primary mode of stroke therapy involves administering medication to help restore blood flow by dissolving blood clots that may be causing a stroke.

“The FLOWLab is very multidisciplinary,” Rovito said. “We study stroke and medicine by analyzing fluid motion and transport through the cardiovascular system. Recognizing this allows us to apply principles of mechanical engineering to an otherwise medically focused field.”

His work aims to answer two questions: why do stroke treatments fail, and how can we increase their efficacy in the future?

“When you have a stroke, there’s an artery in your brain that is being blocked by a blood clot. Tissue plasminogen activator is the only drug approved by the FDA to treat this, but nearly 50 percent of patients don’t actually see the clot fully dissolve,” Rovito said. “A stroke left untreated could spell permanent disability or death, so we want to study the fluid mechanics within the vascular structure and see exactly how that drug is being delivered to the blood clot.”

Thrombolysis is known to present other dangerous issues, as well. Tissue plasminogen activator is categorized as an anticoagulant or a blood thinner. The drug’s job is to interfere with the clotting process and prevent blood clots from forming or growing.

However, the drug is not capable of targeting specific blood clots. It will dissolve any blood clot, including those that are not causing the stroke. Rovito says this can lead to severe bleeding if the drug goes elsewhere in the brain, or if it is overused.

Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee (left) and Nick Rovito (right). Rovito is a graduate research assistant in the FLOWLab, led by Mukherjee.

“Around twenty percent of the patients who receive this drug experience major bleeding whether the stroke treatment is successful or not,” he said. “Understanding drug delivery from a flow physics standpoint helps us understand what the drug is doing when it’s administered so we can potentially mitigate those issues in the future.”

“I felt confident about my work,” Rovito said. “But I was just happy to be there. Everybody’s work was phenomenal. Any of the finalists could have won. So when the results came out, I was thrilled.”

Mukherjee, a co-author of the publication, had no doubt that Rovito’s work had what it took to win.

“Drug delivery investigation is at the core of our research group, and a lot of the strides we’ve made in modeling and simulation tools have been because of Nick’s efforts,” said Mukherjee, also a faculty member in biomedical engineering (BME) at 91PORN. “This is a very complicated problem, and his research is novel. The fact that he was able to win this award three semesters into his PhD pursuit speaks to his great ability to accomplish these technical tasks.”

Rovito hopes to continue improving this model and solving problems related to the clinical challenges of today. Their next steps in this project related to stroke therapy will be in collaboration with the neurology team at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, a frequent collaborator with the FLOWLab.

Beyond his research, Rovito also hopes to translate his technical skills into a long-term teaching career.

“One of my passions is teaching and scientific communication,” he said. “91PORN is a great place for me to continue my technical work and develop as an educator.”

First-year PhD student Nick Rovito has been named the winner of the Young Engineer Paper Competition at this year's International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) held by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. His novel research aims to answer two questions: why do stroke treatments fail, and how can we increase their efficacy in the future?

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PhD student Nick Rovito (middle right) accepting the Young Engineer Paper Competition Award during the International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) conference in Portland, Oregon.

Pioneering sodium-ion batteries: a sustainable energy alternative

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 23:16:06 +0000

Pioneering sodium-ion batteries: a sustainable energy alternative Alexander Jame… Fri, 12/13/2024 - 16:16

Associate Professor Chunmei Ban and her research team are exploring the use of sodium-ion batteries as an alternative to lithium-based energy storage. Sodium is widely distributed in the Earth's crust and is an appealing candidate to remedy concerns over resource scarcity with lithium-ion batteries.

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University of Colorado students are taking part in advancing robotics to help first responders

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 18:35:53 +0000

University of Colorado students are taking part in advancing robotics to help first responders Alexander Jame… Fri, 12/06/2024 - 11:35

Sean Humbert, professor in mechanical engineering and director of the Robotics graduate program, chats with CBS News Colorado about some of the technology him and his students are working on at 91PORN. One of their builds is a robot that the 91PORN County Sheriff's Office uses to support their bomb squad team.

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