Personal Mention
Mechanical Engineering Professor Jessica Zhang was recently awarded a Simons Visiting Professorship by Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach (MFO), Germany. The Simons Visiting Professors program supports distinguished scientists from outside Europe who wish to combine an existing invitation to an Oberwolfach Workshop with a research visit to a European university of up to two weeks. Zhang was invited to attend the Oberwolfach Workshop of “Mathematical Foundations of Isogeometric Analysis” on July 15-19, and she presented her latest research on "Convergence Rate Study Using Hybrid Non-Uniform Subdivision Basis Functions." Following this workshop, she visited Department of Mathematics, University of Rome “Tor Vergata” on July 22-23 and delivered a seminar on "Image-Based Mesh Generation and Volumetric Spline Modeling for Isogeometric Analysis with Engineering Applications."
Shawn Litster received a 2019 Annual Merit Review Award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Program, recognizing his leadership and work in fuel cell research and development. Litster, a professor of mechanical engineering, is leading a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon, the State University of New York at Buffalo, 3M and Giner to develop platinum-free fuel cells that perform for longer durations. Fuel cells, which primarily use hydrogen as fuel, are energy efficient, clean and fuel flexible, with high energy density and no carbon emissions. One of major challenges in making fuel cells more available has been the high cost of platinum, a part of the cell that works as a catalyst.
Chemistry Ph.D. candidate Zoe Wright has been named the recipient of the 2019 Kwolek Fellowship in Chemistry. The fellowship is funded by a bequest from Carnegie Mellon alumna Stephanie Kwolek, best known as the inventor of the synthetic fiber Kevlar. It provides up to $50,000 to women Ph.D. candidates who "have shown significant advances in their research." Wright works in the lab of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Stefanie A. Sydlik, where she focuses on synthesizing new methacrylate-based monomers to act as additives to existing medical adhesives. With the support from her Kwolek Fellowship, Wright plans to work on completing her research projects at Carnegie Mellon to prepare for postdoctoral research. She hopes to be able to expand her therapeutic methacrylic comonomer additives as a platform that could deliver antibiotics from bone cement, and to learn how to do bacterial cell culture. Find out more.
Sophomore Nicholas Acuna has been selected as a 2019 Perryman Scholar by the Perryman Family Foundation. Acuna is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering and working as a research assistant in the Robotics Institute. The scholarship is designated for students in technology, engineering, math or metals, and rewards hard-working students who hope to apply their education to make a difference in the world. “I have gained more knowledge and practical engineering experience than I could have ever imagined through my studies and while working on the lunar rover project [in the Robotics Institute],” Acuna said. “After growing to love robotics, I am now beginning to consider entering a master’s degree program for it. I am incredibly grateful for the scholarship offered by the Perryman Foundation that will allow me to afford these amazing programs and to continue working on what I love.”