Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship Recipients
Three Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics graduate students recieved the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship this year: Jennifer Annoni, Savio Poovathingal, and Vivekanand Dabade.
Jennifer Annoni is currently pursuing her PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the U of M, working with Professor Peter Seiler. She received her M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics from the U of M in 2014, and her B.S. in Electrical Engineering and B.A. in Physics from the University of St. Thomas in 2012. Annoni has participated in the AEM department’s outreach project working with middle school students from the Twin Cities area in order to engage them in engineering concepts and research technologies. The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship will provide her with the opportunity to continue her research and network with other students and faculty, as well as provide the lab with more funding in order to offer research opportunities to undergraduate students.
“I have greatly enjoyed being a part of the AEM department for the past three years,” said Annoni. “There is a wide range of research and expertise here, as well as many opportunities for collaboration, which has been very helpful in advancing research in this department. Overall, my experience in the AEM depatment has been outstanding, and I am excited for what the future brings.”
Savio Poovathingal began graduate school in the fall of 2010, working with Professor Schwartzentruber on non-equilibrium flows. He is working toward building predictive models for oxidation of carbon based materials used in hypersonic vehicles, and hopes to build a model that is free from current models’ assumptions and parameters. Poovathingal started at the atomistic scale, studying physical processes between atoms. This knowledge was then used at the micro scale to study differences between various carbon materials. Finally, all the detailed physical processes from the atomistic and micro scales will be used to build a model that will predict oxidation accurately for furture carbon based materials. This final stage will be funded by the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
“My experience in the AEM department has been great,” said Poovathingal. “I like this program because it’s laid back, giving me the space as a student to explore ideas without any pressure. There are very few rigid requirements and I can customize my study the way I find fit, which really helped me enjoy the graduate school experience.”
Vivekanand Dabade is a graduate student in the AEM department, currently pursuing his PhD. Prior to joining the department, Dabade earned his Master’s in Engineering Mechanics at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bangalore, India. Dabade is currently working with Professor Richard James, focusing his research on understanding the mechanics of magnetic materials. Professor James has allowed Dabade to work on problems in mechanics from an experimental and theoretical perspective, which is a rare combination, and something Dabade says he will cherish long after he graduates.
“I’d like to thank the Graduate School at the University of Minnesota for awarding me the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, as it gives me a great opportunity to focus on my research,” said Dabade. “I would also like to thank Department Head, Professor Perry Leo, for all his assistance during my graduate studies in the AEM department.”
Last Modified: 2015-05-14 at 14:45:05 -- this is in International Standard Date and Time Notation