Sara Aliyeva
Sara is from Bunker Hill Community College, MA with a major in Biological Sciences: Medical Professions Option. Her summer research project is on “Microbial Valorization Of Lobster Shell Chitin”. The goal of this research is to investigate the possibility of extracting chitin from waste lobster shells using bacterial cultures. The chitin can be broken down into its monomers of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine which can then be used to produce biodiesel. To realize this goal, the following objectives will be studied:
• Optimize bacterial processing of lobster shells.
• Genetically modify bacteria to produce chitinases to break down chitin into its monomers, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (NAG), which will then be converted to biodiesel.
Edwin Benson
Edwin is an Engineering Transfer student from Springfield Technical Community College, MA. His summer research project is on “Predicting Transport Properties of Electrolyte Solutions for Redox Flow Batteries”. The primary goal of this project is to predict the transport properties of RFB electrolytes, namely viscosity, conductivity, and diffusivity. This will be accomplished by performing molecular dynamics simulations using V+4 and V+5 systems with:
- [N1111]+, [N2222]+, [N3333]+, [N4444]+ cations at different concentrations
- Temperatures at 4°C, 25°C, and 50°C
- Acetonitrile, water, and binary solvents
- Viscosity-modifying agents
Jesse Zander Estrada-Jauregui
- Jesse is a Chemical Engineering student from Bakersfield College, CA. His summer research project is on “Investigation of a High Entropy Polymer Electrolyte for Structural Energy Storage Applications”. This project aims to demonstrate the
aforementioned concept by evaluating an SPE consisting of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polylactic acid (PLA), and a lithium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (LiTFSI) electrolyte. To realize this aim, the following objectives will be investigated: - analyze the miscibility of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)/polylactic acid (PLA) with electrolyte lithium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (LiTFSI)
- identify the high-entropy states of SPEs made from PMMA/PLA/LiTFSI blends
- determine whether the blend at various entropy states leads to an increase in ionic conductivity
- determine whether the blend at various entropy states exhibits changes in mechanical properties
Ayssar Farah
Ayssar is from Asnuntuck Community College, CT with a major in Physics/Computer Science. His summer research project is on “Development of a Generalized Machine Learning Model for Predicting Redox Active Material Properties for Nonaqueous Redox Flow Battery”. The primary goal of this project is to create a versatile quantum chemistry-machine learning model to predict electrolyte properties, including solubility, transport properties, and redox potentials. To realize this goal, following objectives will be carried out:
- Data from existing databases and quantum chemistry calculations will be analyzed to identify molecular and chemical property features that can serve as descriptors for solubility, transport properties, and redox potential.
- Later, these descriptors will be utilized to develop a generalized quantum chemistry-machine learning model capable of making informed predictions about these properties based on the dataset.
Justin Gonzalez
Justin is an Engineering Science student from CT State Community College Norwalk. His summer research project is on “Damage sensing studies of repaired intra-ply composites under quasi-static tensile loading conditions. The goal of the project is to investigate the damage-sensing characteristics of different repair methods on intra-ply carbon/glass composites under quasi-static tensile loading conditions. To realize this goal, a set of experiments will be performed using four circumference probe piezo-resistance measurements along with digital
image correlation and the following objectives will be investigated:
● Fabricate intra-ply composites, design and develop test specimens for three different repair methods (angled scarf, round scarf, and stepped lap)
● Study the composite mechanical properties (stress and strain) with the different repair methods
● Compare the data from different repair methods
● Understand the piezo-resistance response of these repaired composites under tensile loading conditions
● Relate the electrical response with the full-field displacement of digital image correlation
My Ly
My is Mechanical Engineering student at Montgomery County Community College, PA. Her summer research project is on “Synthesis of Drug-Encapsulated Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery Using Microbots”. The aim of this project is to combine concepts of drug-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENPs) and light-controlled microbots for targeted drug delivery. To achieve this aim, the following objectives will be studied:
- Fabricate the DENPs for sustainable release of drugs/biological molecules.
- Characterize the DENPs using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR),
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC),
ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA). - Conduct an in-vitro study of the DENPs’ efficacy on Escherichia coli.
- Load and unload the DENPs using light-controlled microbots.
- Attempt to deliver the DENPs from one location to another using light-controlled
microbots as carriers.
Gwendalyn Myers
Gwendalyn is a Biological Science student from Butler County Community College, PA. Her summer research project is on “Design of Flow Battery Electrolytes for Redox Flow Batteries”. The goal of this research is to address the issue of balancing high energy storage and viscosity of the active material (TBA2VBH). This research will investigate how the concentration and temperature of TBA2VBH changes its viscosity. To realize the above goal, following objectives are identified and will be investigated:
- Record viscosity of active material TBA2VBH in acetonitrile in various concentrations and a range of temperatures
- Examine effects of Aliquat 336 on solubility and viscosity of TBA2VBH
Isaac Rodriguez
Isaac is a Mechanical Engineering student from Arizona Western College, AZ. The goal of his summer research project is to understanding the pinch-off of a bubble on superhydrophobic surfaces. To achieve this goal, the following set of objectives will be investigated:
● Fabricate different test models of superhydrophobic surfaces.
● Capture the process in which the bubble neck detaches from the SHSs.
● Study the relationship of the neck radius as a function of time.
● Understand the dynamics of the pinch-off of an air bubble.
Dillon Singh
Dillon is an Engineering Science student from Hudson County Community College. The goal of his summer research project is to understand the bubble formation on porous superhydrophobic surfaces. To realize this goal, the following objectives are identified for investigation:
- Measure the effect of gas injection on bubble formation on porous surface by varying the pressure from 1-20 psi
- Use four different porosity discs to measure how varying porosity affects bubble formation
- Apply superhydrophobic coating on the porous surface and repeat the experiments to compare from non-coated surfaces
- Create a model to predict the bubble size, number of bubbles, and gas flow rate under different experimental conditions.
Paige Watkins
Paige is Life Sciences student from Massachusetts Bay Community College. Her summer research project is on “Plasmonic Materials for Tunable Optical Camouflage”. The goal of this project is explore dynamic color control via electro-optic effects to potentially develop active camouflage. To realize this goal, the following objectives will be pursued:
- Formulate plasmonic inks with good color quality.
- Controlling and optimizing the parameters involved in the preparation of Plasmonic Ink.
- Improve the reproducibility of the color of the plasmonic ink.
- Test whether a color change can be induced using an electro-optical device.
Anya Zakhour
Anya is a Mechanical Engineering student from Community College of Rhode Island. Her summer research project is on “Determining Rate-dependent Mixed Mode Fracture Criteria for FDM Printed ABS Material”. The major goal of this project is to study rate-dependent dynamic fracture toughness in mixed-mode and mode-II load conditions of four different raster orientations. To realize this goal, the below list of objectives will be studied:
- Fabricate several test specimens of SENB with 4 different raster orientations.
- Conduct dynamic fracture experiments under pure mode-I, mixed-mode, and pure mode-II loading conditions.
- Analyze experimental data to determine mixed-mode fracture criteria for all 4 raster orientations.
- Compare rate-dependent criteria with static loading conditions using Instron testing machine.