2018’s most popular stories

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The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is home to high-achieving faculty, staff, students and alumni. Read on and be motivated by their accomplishments featured in the most-viewed stories from 2018.

1. Aerospace engineering student earns national fellowship
Fourth-year aerospace engineering student Kayla Watson became interested in aerospace engineering during an eighth-grade science class. She continued her success as a Brooke Owens Fellow.

Volleyball player and mechanical engineer Nicolas Szerszen.
2. Standout athletes shine on the court and in the classroom
Volleyball player and mechanical engineer Nicolas Szerszen.

Being future-focused is what brought both Nicolas Szerszen and Luisa Schirmer to The Ohio State University. These fourth-year standout varsity volleyball players with aspirations of playing professionally each knew that they also wanted to be mechanical engineers.

3. PhD candidates honored with Presidential Fellowships, research focused on vascular health
Mechanical engineering PhD candidates Hoda Hatoum and Ehsan Akbari were each selected by The Ohio State University Graduate School as recipients of the distinguished Presidential Fellowship. Focused on the biological application of mechanical engineering, both Hatoum’s and Akbari’s research projects involve the intersection of engineering and medicine.

4. NIH grant awarded to Song, Prakash and Castro to study blood vessel structure and function
Research by a team of engineers from The Ohio State University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering aims to establish a fundamental understanding of blood vessel permeability, which could ultimately improve ways to limit excessive blood vessel growth during disease. Co-led by mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Jonathan Song and mechanical engineering Associate Professors Shaurya Prakash and Carlos Castro, the researchers were awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

5. Associate professor awarded Fulbright U.S. scholar grant
Carlos Castro, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, receieved a prestigious U.S. Fulbright Scholar Grant provided by the U.S. Department of State. Castro traveled to Dublin, Ireland, and was affiliated with the Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research (AMBER) Centre and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland from May – August 2018.

Hanna Cho, center, and researchers in her laboratory.
6. Cho expands research initiatives with two prestigious funding awards
Hanna Cho, center, and researchers in her laboratory.

Summer 2018 was a successful one for Assistant Professor Hanna Cho. She was awarded funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnership for Innovation and her previous Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty designation was converted to a prestigious Director’s Fellowship.

7. Undergraduate scholars from India expand research and leadership skills
During summer 2018 seven top undergraduate students from India joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering as part of a two-month selective program aimed at introducing students to research and the academic process in the United States. The Research Internship for Young Academics (RIYA) program is designed to facilitate cutting-edge research experiences for undergraduate mechanical engineering students from high-ranking institutes in India.

8. Assistant Professors Harne and Song named NSF CAREER Award recipients
Assistant Professors Ryan L. Harne and Jonathan Song have individually been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. According to the NSF, the awards are given in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

9. After graduation: Insights into transitioning from student to professional
As Buckeye Engineers graduate and start their careers, they’re often faced with many choices. Thousands of Buckeye Engineers across the globe and across generations have navigated the same challenges. To share some insight, two department alumni—Di Peng and Christine Bromley spoke about their experiences transitioning from students to professionals.

10. Awards ceremony honors outstanding students, faculty and alumni
The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering recognized high-achieving students and alumni on April 20, at its 2018 Honors & Awards Banquet. Citations were presented to representatives from each of the department’s three programs—mechanical, aeronautical and astronautical and nuclear engineering.

Awardees in attendance at the 2018 Honors & Awards Banquet. Credit Karen Evans
Awardees in attendance at the 2018 Honors & Awards Banquet. Credit Karen Evans