Monthly Archives April 2017

Three lab members awarded Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships

Congratulations to our three lab members who were awarded Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships by UCF. Taiason Cole was awarded under Track 1, Emerging Fellow, and will be analyzing x-ray diffraction data as part of an investigation to characterize additively manufactured Inconel 718.  Eric Barker was awarded under Track 2, Fieldwork Fellow, and will be working with NASA’s Glenn Research Center for research on a new thermal barrier coating called PS-PVD. Brooke Sarley was awarded under Track 3, Publishing Fellow, and will be preparing a manuscript for publication based on research she has been conducting for several semesters on additively manufactured Inconel 718.

Lab members present posters at the Showcase for Undergraduate Research Excellence at UCF

Lab members Eric Barker, Estefania Bohorquez, Jonathan Hernandez, Ryan Hoover, Lin Rossmann, and Brooke Sarley presented three research posters at the Showcase for Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE) at UCF. SURE provides the perfect opportunity for UCF undergraduates from all disciplines to present their research and projects to the rest of the UCF community.

Eric Barker and Johnathan Hernandez presented on “Effects of Functionalization on Hybrid Carbon Reinforced Polymer Composites through Photoluminescence Spectroscopy.”

Eric Barker and Johnathan Hernandez

Estefania Bohorquez and Ryan Hoover presented on “Investigation of the Effects of Thermal Barrier Coatings via Piezospectroscopy.”

Estefania Bohorquez and Ryan Hoover

Lin Rossmann and Brooke Sarley presented their research on “Characterization of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718 for Extreme Environments through Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction.”

Brooke Sarley and Lin Rossmann

To read more about the event, click here.

 

IRES students host activity for STEM Day

As part of STEM Day at UCF, the IRES students, with help from other lab members, hosted two activities for groups of high school and middle school students. In one activity, a gas turbine engine was deconstructed into three different sections. The kids learned about how gas turbine engines work at the individual stations that highlighted the engineering of each section, with the help of a 3D-printed cutaway model (borrowed from the UCF chapter of ASME). To emphasize the international aspect of science and engineering, we taught them some common and technical words in German, and encouraged them to teach us relevant words in the languages they knew. The kids translated a total of 23 words in over 6 different languages!

A student writes a translation of a word on a diagram of the inlet and compressor sections of a gas turbine engine. Also on the table is a 3D-printed cutaway model of a gas turbine engine.

In the second activity, the kids learned about spectroscopy and each built a simple spectroscope, which they got to take home with them. Spectroscopes are a simple tool to introduce kids to the field of spectroscopy, which is a powerful diagnostic tool for engineers as well as a scientific tool. One of our lab teams is using a type of spectroscopy called photoluminescent piezospectroscopy to investigate the effects of sand ingression on the coatings of turbine blades.

A student builds a spectroscope by taping a diffraction grating and a narrow slit of stiff paper to opposite ends of a dark tube.

The kids enjoyed themselves and learned a bit, and the volunteers have a fun time as well.
A special thanks to our volunteers: Sanjeev Ballapuram-Murali, Taiason Cole, John Hatchitt, Ryan Hoover, Cesar Lopez, and Brooke Sarley, and IRES students Estefania Bohorquez, Debraliz Isaac-Aragones, Owen Pryor, and Lin Rossmann.

All photos by Paul Kelly, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UCF