MAE: a YEAR in REVIEW 2018–2019 Howard A
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MAE: A YEAR IN REVIEW 2018–2019 Howard A. Stone, Chair MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 2 FROM THE CHAIR: About the Department of 4 YEAR IN REVIEW Mechanical and Aerospace 8 IN PROFILE: STUDENTS OF MAE Engineering at Princeton University 16 MEET THE PEOPLE OF MAE: FACULTY AND LEADERSHIP 17 FACULTY COMMITTEES rinceton’s Department of Mechanical for future leadership in areas of rapidly RESEARCH Pand Aerospace Engineering (MAE) evolving technologies. EXPENDITURES has played a leading role in propulsion, combustion, aerospace dynamics, and As a result, the people of MAE are providing 18 FACULTY AWARDS, HONORS fluid dynamics over the past half century, engineering solutions to address the world’s & RECOGNITION, DEPARTMENT with expansion in recent decades into challenges in the areas of biotechnology, PERSONNEL dynamics and control, applied physics, energy production and distribution, 19 SEMINAR SERIES and materials science. sustainability, transportation, communication, and health, safety and security. 20 UNDERGRADUATES: ENROLLMENT, Our multi-disciplinary focus and attention SENIOR INDEPENDENT WORK to both engineering fundamentals and Together, we take on future challenges, today. 21 OPERATING EXPENDITURES, groundbreaking research helps us train SPONSORED RESEARCH graduate and undergraduate students 22 GRADUATES: DEGREES, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MAE is: ENROLLMENT Applied Physics • Dynamics and Controls • Fluid Mechanics • Materials Science Propulsion & Energy Sciences Challenges: CONTENTS Space Exploration • Satellite Technology • Pollution and Alternative Fuels • Energy Usage • Battery Technology • Novel Optical Systems • Propulsion Systems • Mechanics MAE Distinctive Characteristics of Fluids and Solids • Stability and Control of Vehicles • Aircraft Performance B Y T H E of the Department of Mechanical Instrumentation NUMBERS & Aerospace Engineering (MAE): Cross-disciplinary Collaboration: The department concentrates its research activities in five broadly defined Astronautics • Bio-Inspired Design • Bioengineering • Medical Applications areas with many faculty involved with two or more areas. The five areas are: Combustion and Energy Conversion • Computational Engineering • Environmental 71 Applied Physics and Energy Technologies • Laser-Matter Interactions • Security • Vehicle Sciences Dynamics & Controls Visiting & Fluid Mechanics and Applications Professional Propulsion & Energy Sciences Researchers Materials Science 164 375 Undergraduate & INDIVIDUALS Exchange Students Administrative & 97 15 Technical Staff Graduate Research & Active Students 4 Emeritus Faculty MAE Report 2019 • Page 1 PRINCETON MAE 2018-19 YEAR IN REVIEW: BEYOND BOUNDARIES Our active, world-leading research programs Our faculty conduct active, world-leading range from uncovering basic principles to research programs in many areas, including testing innovative theories in and beyond some research topics that stretch the the traditional MAE realm of topics. For Capitalizing traditional boundaries of MAE. As such, example, we are actively involved in: collaboration is one of our greatest n Robotics and dynamical systems, and its strengths. Our MAE faculty work with modern variants of cyberphysical systems colleagues around the globe and in many n Materials sciences—including problems on Synergy departments at Princeton in areas as from engineering materials to biomechanics By Howard A. Stone, MAE Chair and Donald R. Dixon ’69 and Elizabeth W. Dixon Professor diverse as: n Propulsion and combustion n Chemical and Biological Engineering n Fluid mechanics—including studies n Civil and Environmental Engineering of turbulence, environmental flows, and Welcome to the 2018-19 edition of the annual report of the Department n Computer Science complex fluids of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE). Each year, we n Ecology and Evolutionary Biology n Several areas of applied physics—including celebrate the accomplishments of the people of MAE and share how we n Mathematics fundamental studies of laser-material are meeting the challenges faced in our field to develop a better, safer, n Molecular Biology interactions, electric propulsion, and n Neuroscience fusion energy and more productive world. n Operations Research and Financial Engineering We hope you enjoy learning through this n Physics publication about our community of faculty, Photo by Frank Wojciechowski Frank by Photo Looking back at the 2018-19 accomplishments and milestones set n Woodrow Wilson School of Public researchers and students who explore new ideas and challenge old ones every day, Wout in these pages, one theme continues to be evident: our faculty and International Affairs contributing to science and real-world and students are capitalizing on synergy to advance knowledge and applications from mechanical to aerospace discoveries not only in our own disciplines but also in other fields, engineering — and beyond. © at Princeton and around the world. MAE operates under the auspices of Princeton University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) and supports two of Princeton’s five ABET-accredited undergraduate degree programs in SEAS. We are unique in that MAE represents a variety of disciplines recognized at most universities in separate departments. The driving force of our department and its accomplishments is our faculty. We have 22 faculty members and one lecturer (19 FTEs total). Together, we build on a long history of academic success and societal impact. For example, five regular or emeriti faculty (Carter, Law, Miles, Smits, and myself) are members of the NAE and/or the NAS. The Complex Fluids Group (with some visitors). t Page 2 • MAE Report 2019 Each year, many stories about student and Laboratory in Department October 2018 November 2018 faculty achievements grace the pages of the of Aerospace Engineering. Video shows a particle surfing Prof. Ju wins 2018 See a video of the fish- in its own wave International Prize of the MAE website. Here is a summary of some submarine here: https:// Check out this video (at Combustion Society of Japan highlights in one easy-to-read place. To read youtu.be/TTxS19EofQ0 https://engineering.princeton. Yiguang Ju, the Robert Porter more details about the stories below, please edu/news/2018/10/02/ Patterson Professor of visit the MAE news pages at August 2018 riding-wave) showing a Mechanical and Aerospace MAE alumni gathering marble-sized sphere falling Engineering and Director, https://mae.princeton.edu/about-mae/news. in California through a tank of silicone oil, Program in Sustainable Energy, E MAE alums, who are a viscous, honey-like liquid, was honored for making all engineers at Virgin alongside a thin rubber distinguished contributions July 2018 Aerospace Engineering, Space Companies, sheet. At the beginning, the to the international and Foam offers greener option and Chair, Department of gathered for dinner in sheet and marble are almost Japanese combustion for petroleum drillers Mechanical and Aerospace Los Angeles: (from touching, but as the sphere research communities. Princeton researchers, led Engineering. left) George Whitesides falls, the two grow further by Prof. Howard Stone, (WWS) and MAE’s apart. This behavior (a At the intersection of nonlinear described in the July 2018 Building fish-inspired robots Josh Ellis ’15, Brittany particle surfing its own wave) dynamics and improvisational edition of the journal PNAS Former MAE graduate Ilardi ’16, Daphne Rein- was identified by a team of dance how a compressible foam student Derek Paley ’07 has Weston ’12, Isabel Cleff ’18, researchers from Prof. Prof. Leonard and her team can reduce the amount of long been fascinated by how Carter Green ’20, and Scott Stone’s MAE lab, along collaborated with Princeton fresh water and resulting fish flap their way efficiently Ostrem ’89. with their counterparts at dance and music colleagues wastewater typically involved through water and how they the Flatiron Institute in to study how a collective, in the hydraulic fracturing swim cohesively in a group September 2018 New York and the Center in-the-moment creative (fracking) process. Lead by using a strip of sensors Leonard presents 2018 for Soft Matter Research at process such as improvisational author Ching-Yao Lai, PhD on their sides to detect water Marsden Memorial Lecture New York University. The dance is a valuable model for ’18, reported that foam flow and obstacles. He is Naomi Ehrich Leonard, the team hopes this research studying social decision- fracking would use only leading researchers at the Edwin S. Wilsey Professor will help measure elastic making. The rule-based about 10 percent of water by University of Maryland in of Mechanical and Aerospace properties of biological improvisational work was volume. Additional authors developing a fish-inspired Engineering, gave the annual membranes or help learn entitled, “There Might Be include Princeton researchers submarine to explore fish- award lecture at the Pacific how to separate particles. Others.” Her team uses Bhargav Rallabandi, Antonio sensing and propulsion in Institute for the Mathematical mathematical model-based Perazzo, Zhong Zheng, the context of developing Sciences in Vancouver, Passing of Professor investigations of complex and Samuel Smiddy (an autonomous robots. He is British Columbia. Her topic Emeritus Lam group dynamics to explain undergraduate in Chemical UMD’s Willis H. Young Jr. was nonlinear dynamics for Sau-Hai (Harvey) Lam, and explore collective and Biological Engineering).