In This Section
Ashok Belegundu
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Iowa
B.Tech., Civil Engineering, I.I.T. Madras

Design optimization, nonlinear and dynamic finite element analysis.

Catherine Berdanier
Ph.D., Engineering Education, Purdue University
M.S., Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University
B.S., Chemistry, University of South Dakota

Engineering cognition research; methods development for engineering education research; mixed methods research; eye-tracking methods.

Sean Brennan
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, New Mexico State University
B.S., Physics, New Mexico State University

Ground vehicle dynamics and automation, mechatronics and embedded systems, data representations for map-based localization and robot guidance.

Margaret Byron
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Berkeley
M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Berkeley
B.S.E., Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University

Motion of both passive particles and aquatic organisms in turbulent flow, focusing on intermediate scales and Reynolds numbers; scale-dependent complexity of organism/environment interaction.

Fan-Bill Cheung
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame

Multiphase heat transfer, thermal processing of materials, nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics and safety.

John Cimbala
Ph.D., Aeronautics, California Institute of Technology
M.S., Aeronautics, California Institute of Technology
B.S., Aerospace Engineering, Penn State

Fluid dynamics, flow visualization, wind tunnels, neutron radiography, turbulence, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), turbulence modeling, turbomachinery, air pollution, stratified tanks, indoor air quality, heat pipes, instrumentation, hydroturbines.

Mary Frecker
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
B.M.E., Mechanical Engineering, University of Dayton

Optimal design, compliant mechanisms, smart structures, medical device design.

Aman Haque
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
M.B.A., University of Alberta
M.S, Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Mechanical, electrical and thermal properties of ultrathin films; insitu transmission electron microscopy; MEMS; nano-scale materials behavior.

Dan Haworth
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Numerical modeling of chemically reacting turbulent flows. Computational fluid dynamics. Reciprocating-piston internal combustion engines.

Reuben Kraft
Postdoctoral, Mechanics, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Computational solid mechanics, finite element analysis, numerical modeling, blast physics, high- performance computing.

Robert Kunz
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Penn State
M.S., Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, University of Illinois
B.S., Aerospace Engineering, SUNY at Buffalo

Computational fluid dynamics, multiphase flows, turbomachinery, nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics and thermal management analysis.

Stephen Lynch
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Wyoming

Convective heat transfer and turbulent boundary layers, gas turbine heat transfer and aerodynamics, advanced experimental diagnostics.

Jaqueline O'Connor
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
B.S., Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Reacting Flow Dynamics Laboratory focuses on issues of reacting flows for energy and propulsion applications. High-speed laser diagnostics and other state-of-the-art experimental techniques are used in research areas like combustion and hydrodynamics.

Zoubeida Ounaies
Ph.D., Engineering Sc. and Mech., Penn State
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Penn State
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Penn State

Smart materials, with a particular focus on design and development of unique combinations of mechanical-electrical-chemical coupling in polymers and polymer nanocomposites; characterization of dielectric materials for sensing, actuation and energy storage.

Laura Pauley
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois

Computational fluid dynamics, boundary layer separation, large-eddy simulation, direct numerical simulation, cavitation inception, engineering education.

Chris Rahn
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan

Dynamic systems modeling, design, analysis, and control with applications to flexible structures, biologically inspired robotics, smart material actuators, sensors, and energy harvesters, and electrochemical energy storage.

Alex Rattner
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
B.S., Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania

Sustainable thermal-fluid energy systems, waste heat recovery, multiphase flow heat and mass transfer, high performance computing.

Alok Sinha
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Turbine blade vibration, magnetic bearings, active vibration control, sliding mode control, robust control, neural network.

H.J. Sommer
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana

Kinematics, biomechanics, mechatronics, robotics, machine vision, unmanned aircraft.

Adri van Duin
Ph.D., Chemistry, Delft University of Technology
Doctorandus, Chemistry, University of Amsterdam

Molecular dynamics simulations on reactive and nonreactive systems; applications to combustion, catalysis and material failure.

Chao-Yang Wang
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Iowa
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University

Multiphase transport, batteries, and fuel cells.

Yuan Xuan
Ph.D., Aeronautical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
M.S., Aeronautics and Aerospace Engineering, California Institute of Technology
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique

Computational fluid dynamics, turbulent combustion, soot formation, numerical methods, uncertainty quantification.

Richard Yetter
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Princeton University
M.A., Mechanical Engineering, Princeton University
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Syracuse University

Combustion/environmental science, combustion chemistry, heterogeneous combustion, materials synthesis, propellant combustion, combustion generated pollutants, atmospheric plume chemistry and chemical processing.

Additional Faculty

The faculty listed above regularly teach for the Penn State World Campus Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering program.  View the complete Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty and Staff directory.