Thermo Fluid Sciences

Vriend discusses the mechanics of avalanches, with tips for surviving

Alexander James Servantez — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:15 +0000

Vriend discusses the mechanics of avalanches, with tips for surviving Alexander Jame鈥� Tue, 01/21/2025 - 14:43

Avalanche risk may be rising around the world, and as temperature patterns change, they may be more difficult to predict. Associate Professor Nathalie Vriend uses a technique in her lab called photoelasticity to study small-scale avalanches. In this article published by The Conversation, she explains what causes these innocent-looking snow slopes to collapse, and gives tips to help skiers survive if they encounter one.

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PhD student wins national award for fluids research in stroke therapy

Alexander James Servantez — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 20:43:07 +0000

PhD student wins national award for fluids research in stroke therapy Alexander Jame鈥� Fri, 01/17/2025 - 13:43

Alexander Servantez

Nick Rovito, a first-year PhD student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, was living on top of the world.

After submitting a technical publication to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fluids Engineering Division, he was named one of five finalists for the Young Engineer Paper Competition and was invited to present his research at the International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) conference in Portland, Oregon.

Nick Rovito, first-year PhD student and winner of the American Society of Mechanical Engineer's Young Engineer Paper Competition.

Rovito鈥檚 award-winning research article is titled 鈥�In Silico Analysis of Flow-Mediated Drug Transport For Thrombolytic Therapy in Acute Ischemic Stroke.鈥� The piece featured a multi-physics model coupling fluid dynamics, drug transport and reactions that emulates the clot-dissolving process in stroke treatment.

Simply being recognized amongst the other finalists at such a prestigious gathering was already the honor of a lifetime, he said. With over 1,600 research leaders across nearly 20 technical tracks, the IMECE conference features one of the largest and most diverse conference communities that ASME has to offer. It鈥檚 often touted as the largest mechanical engineering conference in the country.

But when presentations had concluded and the judges were done deliberating, Rovito wasn鈥檛 just a finalist. He was the winner.

As a graduate research assistant in the FLOWLab, led by Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee at the 91福利社, Rovito conducts computational fluid dynamics research analyzing the mechanisms of thrombolysis in the blood vessels of the brain. This primary mode of stroke therapy involves administering medication to help restore blood flow by dissolving blood clots that may be causing a stroke.

鈥淭he FLOWLab is very multidisciplinary,鈥� Rovito said. 鈥淲e study stroke and medicine by analyzing fluid motion and transport through the cardiovascular system. Recognizing this allows us to apply principles of mechanical engineering to an otherwise medically focused field.鈥�

His work aims to answer two questions: why do stroke treatments fail, and how can we increase their efficacy in the future?

鈥淲hen you have a stroke, there鈥檚 an artery in your brain that is being blocked by a blood clot. Tissue plasminogen activator is the only drug approved by the FDA to treat this, but nearly 50 percent of patients don鈥檛 actually see the clot fully dissolve,鈥� Rovito said. 鈥淎 stroke left untreated could spell permanent disability or death, so we want to study the fluid mechanics within the vascular structure and see exactly how that drug is being delivered to the blood clot.鈥�

Thrombolysis is known to present other dangerous issues, as well. Tissue plasminogen activator is categorized as an anticoagulant or a blood thinner. The drug鈥檚 job is to interfere with the clotting process and prevent blood clots from forming or growing.

However, the drug is not capable of targeting specific blood clots. It will dissolve any blood clot, including those that are not causing the stroke. Rovito says this can lead to severe bleeding if the drug goes elsewhere in the brain, or if it is overused.

Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee (left) and Nick Rovito (right). Rovito is a graduate research assistant in the FLOWLab, led by Mukherjee.

鈥淎round twenty percent of the patients who receive this drug experience major bleeding whether the stroke treatment is successful or not,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nderstanding drug delivery from a flow physics standpoint helps us understand what the drug is doing when it鈥檚 administered so we can potentially mitigate those issues in the future.鈥�

鈥淚 felt confident about my work,鈥� Rovito said. 鈥淏ut I was just happy to be there. Everybody鈥檚 work was phenomenal. Any of the finalists could have won. So when the results came out, I was thrilled.鈥�

Mukherjee, a co-author of the publication, had no doubt that Rovito鈥檚 work had what it took to win.

鈥淒rug delivery investigation is at the core of our research group, and a lot of the strides we鈥檝e made in modeling and simulation tools have been because of Nick鈥檚 efforts,鈥� said Mukherjee, also a faculty member in biomedical engineering (BME) at 91福利社. 鈥淭his is a very complicated problem, and his research is novel. The fact that he was able to win this award three semesters into his PhD pursuit speaks to his great ability to accomplish these technical tasks.鈥�

Rovito hopes to continue improving this model and solving problems related to the clinical challenges of today. Their next steps in this project related to stroke therapy will be in collaboration with the neurology team at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, a frequent collaborator with the FLOWLab.

Beyond his research, Rovito also hopes to translate his technical skills into a long-term teaching career.

鈥淥ne of my passions is teaching and scientific communication,鈥� he said. 鈥�91福利社 is a great place for me to continue my technical work and develop as an educator.鈥�

First-year PhD student Nick Rovito has been named the winner of the Young Engineer Paper Competition at this year's International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) held by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. His novel research aims to answer two questions: why do stroke treatments fail, and how can we increase their efficacy in the future?

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PhD student Nick Rovito (middle right) accepting the Young Engineer Paper Competition Award during the International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) conference in Portland, Oregon.

PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowships

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 22:51:12 +0000

PhD students earn top National Science Foundation fellowships Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/24/2024 - 16:51

Jeff Zehnder

The National Science Foundation has bestowed three prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards to 91福利社 mechanical engineering graduate students.

The national awards recognize and support outstanding grad students from across the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields who are pursuing research-based master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees.

PhD students Reegan Ketzenberger, Caleb Song, and Jennifer Wu are each receiving the honor for 2024. Find out more about their research below.

Awardees receive a $37,000 annual stipend and cost of education allowance for the next three years as well as professional development opportunities.

Two mechanical engineering PhD students, Alex Hedrick and Carly Rowe, also received honorable mentions from the National Science Foundation program.

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Bringing space inside the lab: Researchers replicate the climates of exoplanets to help find extraterrestrial life

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 17:59:50 +0000

Bringing space inside the lab: Researchers replicate the climates of exoplanets to help find extraterrestrial life Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/15/2021 - 10:59

Rachel Leuthauser

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjg_RIj-LRc]

Header image: A view of the instrument, built by Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr'21), as the experiment replicates the conditions on exoplanets, causing the experiment to glow with heat.

Scientists do not need to travel light-years away to chart the atmospheres of exoplanets, thanks to research happening in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering with scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr鈥�21) has developed an experiment that recreates the actual climate of planets beyond our solar system inside a 2,000 lb. instrument at Professor Greg Rieker鈥檚 lab on the 91福利社 campus. By reaching the same high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on many exoplanets, the instrument can map the gases in their atmospheres, which could one day help humanity find life on other planets.

鈥淚f we looked at Earth鈥檚 atmosphere, we would know that life is here because we see methane, carbon dioxide, all these different markers that say something is living here,鈥� Rieker said. 鈥淲e can look at the chemical signatures of exoplanets as well. If we see the right combination of gases, it could be an indicator that something is alive there.鈥�

Rieker and Cole鈥檚 work can contribute to exoplanet transit spectroscopy 鈥� a research method to observe the composition of an exoplanet鈥檚 atmosphere. Scientists use a telescope to look at the light passing through it. As the light interacts with gases in the atmosphere, those gases absorb the photons as they move through.

鈥淪cientists need a map for how to interpret what the light is telling us when it gets here,鈥� Rieker said. 鈥淭hat is where Ryan鈥檚 experiment comes in. As we create this little microcosm of that exoplanet鈥檚 atmosphere in our lab, we send in our own characterized light with lasers and study the photons that come out. We can measure the changes and map how the light is absorbed.鈥�

In collaboration with scientists at JPL, Cole and Rieker鈥檚 experiment combines sensor measurements with computational models to help detect the different gases on exoplanets. While Cole built the instrument that replicates the exoplanets鈥� climates and measures how light is being absorbed at those exotic conditions, JPL's Deputy Section Manager Brian Drouin鈥檚 lab supplied the tool that interprets the measurements.

Their research could optimize telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, which as of mid-December, is set to launch Dec. 24 from the European Space Agency鈥檚 site in French Guiana.

鈥淭he James Webb Space Telescope and others like Hubble are looking at the ultimate horizon of what humans can see,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淕reg and I are trying to make their visions a little clearer. Our laboratory measurements can help to interpret the telescopes鈥� observations of distant planetary atmospheres.鈥�

There are endless expanses of the universe for these telescopes to explore 鈥� more than 4,800 confirmed exoplanets and about 7,900 more that NASA says could be planets. With Rieker and Cole鈥檚 experiment factored into the expedition, our understanding of exoplanets and the gases in their atmospheres can be improved 鈥� and therefore, it also advances the search for extraterrestrial life.

How the instrument works

The high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on exoplanets can be recreated inside this instrument.

鈥淭here really are not many systems out there that can reach the high-temperature, high-pressure conditions that we reach,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淣ot only do we need to reach those conditions, we also need the temperature and pressure to be extremely uniform and well-known. Achieving these criteria is one of the most unique aspects of our experiment.鈥�

The size and scope of the instrument Cole developed is what allows them to reach the high-temperatures and high-pressures that are seen on exoplanets. The experiment inside the piece of equipment can get up to 1,000 degrees Kelvin, which is about 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit.

The 2,000 lb. instrument also has thick steel walls that are designed to reach 100 atmospheres. To put that into context, Earth鈥檚 mean pressure at sea level is one atmosphere.

Starting in 2016, when he joined Rieker鈥檚 lab, Cole had to work through about five iterations of the high-temperature, high-pressure cell before getting it right.

鈥淩yan is the first one to do it,鈥� Rieker said. 鈥淗e has created datasets that are really close to perfect.鈥�

Once the conditions are reached inside Cole鈥檚 instrument, the team sends light through the experiment from frequency comb lasers, a technology that was the basis of Nobel-Prize winning research at the 91福利社 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The laser has hundreds of thousands of wavelengths of light that are very well-behaved, making it an ideal tool to study light-matter interactions.

鈥淲e pass the laser through this environment and in doing so, we record how the laser light interacts with the gas that we have confined in the core of this unique experiment,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淲e measure how the light has been absorbed at different frequencies, which can be used to interpret observations of actual exoplanetary atmospheres.鈥�

Those measurements then go through JPL鈥檚 interpretation tool. That computational model extracts the fundamental quantum parameters that enable the team to map how the atmosphere鈥檚 gas molecules will interact with light at any condition.

Rieker compared the relationship between the measurements they attain and the parameters that JPL supplies to a JPEG, the standard format for image data. While we see the photo, the JPEG data is the code, or set of instructions, for the image.

In this case, the equipment in Rieker鈥檚 lab provides the photo 鈥� the exoplanet conditions and light passing through its atmosphere. The JPL tool provides the JPEG code 鈥� the data that describes how the light is interacting with gases in the atmosphere.

Applications for sustainability on Earth

Looking inside the instrument when the experiment reaches high-temperatures and high-pressures.

鈥�

Rieker鈥檚 work did not start with the goal of mapping exoplanet鈥檚 atmospheres. The original objective was to understand the combustion inside a rocket or aircraft engine. He had set out to chart the emissions coming from those engines, which can help society find more efficient ways to burn fuel.

鈥淚 think it is interesting that you can tie the applications of the instrument from a jet engine at the Denver International Airport to the atmosphere of a distant an exoplanet far from Earth,鈥� Cole said.

The range of the technology鈥檚 function still allows the team to mimic the inside of a jet engine and map the gases being emitted, but while building the equipment, Cole recognized that the conditions inside the simulated engine were very similar to conditions on the surface of Venus 鈥� high-temperature and high-pressure.

鈥淰enus is a really interesting planet because physically, Venus and Earth are very similar in terms of size and density,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淭here is an ongoing question in the planetary science community that says you can draw an interesting comparison between Venus and Earth. Does Venus give us another data point for how Earth-like planets evolve?鈥�

Venus has an atmosphere that is almost 860 degrees Fahrenheit and is 95-times the pressure of Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. The planet is completely inhospitable largely due to a runaway greenhouse effect driven by the high amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The potent greenhouse gas traps heat in Venus鈥檚 atmosphere, leading to extremely high surface temperatures.

While Earth鈥檚 atmosphere is nowhere near the levels of carbon dioxide found on Venus, studies of Venus鈥檚 atmosphere could advance climate change research.

鈥淥ur equipment can help scientists better understand Venus and the evolution of atmospheres that are increasingly burdened with carbon dioxide,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淭he experiment can help our understanding of the atmospheres of Earth-like planets with a sample size of two planets, instead of just one.鈥�

From the inside of an engine to the surface of Venus and distant exoplanets, the fundamental goal of Rieker and Cole鈥檚 work is to understand how light interacts with gas molecules. However, no matter the scope, the applications of Rieker and Cole鈥檚 research all have the same theme 鈥� to promote life. One day soon, that might include life elsewhere, not just on Earth.

Professor Greg Rieker and Ryan Cole (PhDMechEngr鈥�21) have developed an experiment that recreates the climates of planets beyond our solar system right in the lab. By reaching the same high-temperature and high-pressure conditions found on many exoplanets, the instrument can map their atmospheres, which could help humanity detect life outside our solar system.

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Rieker lab explores new technology for measuring angular velocity in fluid flows

Anonymous — Thu, 13 May 2021 23:16:39 +0000

Rieker lab explores new technology for measuring angular velocity in fluid flows Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/13/2021 - 17:16

Researchers in Associate Professor Greg Rieker's lab are developing a machine learning-based signal processing scheme facilitates measuring the angular velocities in fluid flows using small particles that traverse beams of structured light.

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Researchers develop patient-specific models to prevent repeat strokes

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Dec 2020 17:37:08 +0000

Researchers develop patient-specific models to prevent repeat strokes Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 12/19/2020 - 10:37

Oksana Schuppan

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, killing 5.7 million people each year. However, with diagnostic technologies being developed by Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee of the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, engineers and clinicians are hopeful some strokes will soon be prevented.

Above: Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee.
Top: Blood flow through the arteries and into the Circle of Willis in the brain (right). Successive snapshots of modeled embolic fragments traveling to the brain and leading to stroke (left three images).

Mukherjee and his collaborators, Drs. Jonathan Coutinho and Valeria Guglielmi of Amsterdam University Medical Centers and Dr. Michelle Leppert of CU Anschutz Medical Campus, have received a $584,000 NIBIB Trailblazer Award from the National Institutes of Health to use over the next three years. These funds will enable them to fine-tune patient-specific computational models that will determine how emboli formed at certain locations can lead to a stroke at a specific region in the brain.

Embolic stroke is caused when a blood clot or piece of biological debris, known as an embolus, becomes loose in the bloodstream and creates a blockage that stops blood supply to a specific region of the brain. When the brain tissue does not receive blood over a period of time, the tissue becomes damaged and may die.

鈥淥ur strategy for treating these patients currently hinges on our ability to pinpoint the most likely source of the embolus and treat the underlying cause,鈥� said Leppert. 鈥淭his is why we are excited about this project: because it may offer tools in the future that helps us to objectively pinpoint where an embolus-causing stroke originates.鈥�

The key to figuring out where the embolus originates is understanding how an embolus could be transported from various locations in the heart-brain arterial network to the brain, especially when multiple cardiac or arterial sources may exist. To do so, researchers at Mukherjee's group at 91福利社 will be using a patient-specific computational model known as in-silico embolus source-destination likelihood (SoDeL) mapping. This method is non-invasive and does not require additional imaging costs for the patient.

Coutinho and Guglielmi will begin by gathering a comprehensive clinical and imaging dataset, including the CT scans of the complete heart-brain arterial network of hundreds of stroke patients from Amsterdam UMC.

鈥淲e are imaging the heart, aortic arch, cervical and intracerebral arteries in a 鈥榦ne-stop-shop鈥� protocol directly in the emergency room, right after the stroke has occurred,鈥� said Guglielmi.

Each CT scan will then be converted into a three-dimensional computational model and paired with a simulation developed by Mukherjee鈥檚 group, mimicking how blood flows from the patient鈥檚 heart to their brain. With the simulation in place, Mukherjee and his group will run thousands of what-if scenarios for each patient, releasing thousands of virtual emboli and tracking which source locations are most likely to cause a stroke where one has occurred.

鈥淭his method lets us go from the source to the destination millions of times,鈥� said Mukherjee. 鈥淲hen we play out every possible what-if scenario, we get a stroke risk indication that, when paired with clinical data, can determine exactly where the stroke originated.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e always found it fascinating that many of the same principles you learn in the context of a machine, engine or pump are also governing very vital physical processes,鈥� said Mukherjee. 鈥淭he biggest difference between fluids flowing through a tube and the human body is that our arteries will never be straight. This causes the emboli to travel with a lot of swirling.鈥�

Leppert said collaborations like this are integral to innovation.

鈥淭oo often clinicians and scientists work in parallel, not in tangent, so that progress is only theoretical but never realized,鈥� Leppert said. 鈥淲e often underestimate the impact we can have on one another and the ultimate impact collaborations such as this can make on patient outcomes.鈥�

Mukherjee said it鈥檚 not every day he ends up being able to make such an advancement with international collaborators that will be able to address more than one challenge in the medical field with longstanding consequences on human life. His group is one of the first to be able to model fluid flow for the entire heart-brain arterial pathway, research that is paving the way for stroke prevention around the world.

With diagnostic technologies being developed by Assistant Professor Debanjan Mukherjee of the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at 91福利社, engineers and clinicians are hopeful some strokes may soon be prevented.

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Emeritus Professor John Daily becomes NSF rotator

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 22:17:26 +0000

Emeritus Professor John Daily becomes NSF rotator Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/27/2020 - 16:17

Emeritus Professor John Daily.

Emeritus Professor John Daily was selected to be an NSF rotator, or program director, for the Combustion and Fire Systems Program. He began his new role on October 13.

"The goal of the Combustion and Fire Systems program is to advance energy conversion efficiency, improve energy security, enable cleaner environments, and enhance public safety," said Daily. "I'm looking forward to having the ability to provide direction in our field by encouraging conversations about the important questions and future needs."

During his two-year commitment, Daily will solicit proposals for research, arrange for a peer review process and make final decisions for combustion and fire systems funding. In addition, he said he will do outreach, so researchers across the country are aware of the NSF's many programs and will mentor young faculty with special attention to diversity.

About NSF Rotator Programs

The text below can be found on the NSF Rotator Program webpage.

The National Science Foundation offers a chance for scientists, engineers and educators to join us as temporary program directors, called rotators. Rotators make recommendations about which proposals to fund; influence new directions in the fields of science, engineering, and education; support cutting-edge interdisciplinary research; and mentor junior research members.

You can become a rotator either as a Visiting Scientist, Engineer and Educator (VSEE) or as an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignee. While rotators can come on temporary assignment under the IPA program for up to four years, most rotating assignments last one to two years.

Emeritus Professor John Daily was selected to be an NSF rotator, or program director, for the Combustion and Fire Systems Program. He is looking forward to providing direction in the field by encouraging conversations about the important questions and future needs.

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Return to Research: A new normal for the Labbe Lab

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 15:31:10 +0000

Return to Research: A new normal for the Labbe Lab Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/26/2020 - 09:31

Oksana Schuppan

For approximately three months, many researchers in the College of Engineering and Applied Science have been working remotely. Now, they are gradually and safely returning to campus to continue their work in the lab. While away, researchers said they adapted quickly and overcame unique challenges, and as they return, they look forward to claiming a new normal in their labs and moving forward in their research.

Above: Assistant Professor Nicole Labbe.
Top: Graduate students Cory Rogers and Sadie Stutzman at work in the Labbe Lab.

Assistant Professor Nicole Labbe鈥檚 lab develops robust chemical kinetic models, using state-of-the-art theoretical methods to accurately unravel chemistry relevant to practical energy problems. These computational models, combined with various experiments, assist in unraveling how fuels operate in extreme temperature and pressure environments found in engines, turbines and rocket thrusters. Her work is used to help develop new technology to increase fuel efficiency, decrease harmful emissions and reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources.

Below, Labbe shares about her return to research.

How many people are currently back to work in your lab? What鈥檚 the general mood about returning?

We have three students and myself returning to lab. The students are so excited. Getting back into the lab has brought back a sense of normalcy to my experimental crew.

How is your lab restarting research after two months away? What are your priorities now, and how have they shifted?

Restarting is definitely a challenge. We don鈥檛 have experiments that you can just turn on. We have been working for over three weeks now, and our system is still not 100 percent back up and running. Hopefully we鈥檒l be back to taking data in a week. With that, we鈥檙e now over three months behind on getting data, and we鈥檙e trying to prioritize work based on deadlines and critical needs as we start to play catch-up. It will be a tough summer getting back on track.

What changes, postponements or issues did you face in your research? Were you able to do any work remotely?

My group is lucky. We are both an experimental and a theory and modeling group. With that, many of my students didn鈥檛 have much of a change other than work location. The others were remotely trained to help with modeling work that would support their experimental efforts. So while we鈥檙e behind on taking data and submitting journal articles, we were able to stay productive.

We did not have any critical employees who remained working during this time. To us, health was priority number one, so while we fell behind, it seemed like the right thing to do.

What precautions are you taking to stay safe?

We aligned our lab safety operating procedure with that of the Department of Energy national labs, which includes mandatory mask and glove wearing, maintaining six feet of distance, daily thermometer readings, lab cleaning three times per day and more. We even have guidance on how to assess the way new stressors can impact work. For example, wearing PPE all day can be a distraction and could affect safety, so I鈥檝e asked students to periodically check in with themselves to make sure we operate our equipment safely.

What are the biggest challenges as you restart? How will you address them?

Our biggest challenges are catching up and getting one-on-one time with my students. While I鈥檝e tried to be available as much as possible for my students, it鈥檚 still much different going over procedures via Zoom rather than teaching someone hands-on, in person.

Have you noticed any 鈥渟ilver linings鈥� to your time away from campus?

The biggest silver lining was that despite our wedding being canceled, my husband and I got married on our back porch. Our family and friends couldn鈥檛 be there, but being home let us have a pseudo-extended honeymoon staycation together.

91福利社 is in the midst of a phased return to on-campus research and creative work in summer 2020. In this series, CU Engineering researchers share tips, tricks and takeaways as they navigate a new approach to research prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

91福利社 researchers are gradually and safely returning to campus to continue their work in the lab. Read about Assistant Professor Nicole Labbe's return to research.

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Burning up: CU researchers use unique tunnel to study wildfires

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 21:28:22 +0000

Burning up: CU researchers use unique tunnel to study wildfires Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/11/2019 - 15:28

91福利社 researchers Peter Hamlington and Greg Rieker are using experiments and computations in a new sloping wind tunnel to study how wildfires form and move across different landscapes, applying cutting edge research tools.

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A bright future for combustion research, Rieker receives Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 13:32:29 +0000

A bright future for combustion research, Rieker receives Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/29/2019 - 07:32

Oksana Schuppan

Associate Professor Greg Rieker

91福利社 Associate Professor Greg Rieker of the Department of Mechanical Engineering has been awarded not one but two of the top international awards in his field. After receiving the Peter Werle Early Career Scientist Award in September 2018, he was selected to receive the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award in April 2019.

鈥淲hat makes these awards special is that I couldn鈥檛 have done it anywhere else but 91福利社,鈥� Rieker said. 鈥淭he frequency comb laser technology we鈥檝e translated into combustion and other practical applications was first demonstrated on campus by Nobel Laureate Professor John Hall.鈥�

Rieker said collaborations with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) were essential to his success.

The Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award is co-sponsored by publisher Elsevier and The Combustion Institute and is the highest honor an early career scientist in the field of combustion can receive. Awardees must demonstrate excellence in fundamental or applied combustion science. The award is named after Professor Hiroshi Tsuji, known for the Tsuji Burner and his research in laminar and turbulent combustion.

Rieker鈥檚 key contributions to the field include the popularization of wavelength modulation spectroscopy, and now the introduction of frequency comb laser spectroscopy, to probe combustion environments. Using lasers as a window, Rieker is able to understand exactly how molecules react during the combustion process. When a laser is projected across a combustion environment, certain wavelengths are absorbed depending on which molecules are present at a given time.

An engraved list of 91福利社 Nobel Laureates stands by the Duane Physics building at 91福利社. John L. Hall, named a Nobel Laureate in 2005, developed the laser technology Rieker now uses in his research.

Applied to combustion, Rieker said this methodology is beneficial, because light doesn鈥檛 change the kinetics or fluid dynamics of a combustion environment. The lasers can also make thousands of measurements per second which can be used to improve combustion efficiency. Though Rieker believes we should push renewables as fast as possible, he said we should also be ready to add the best, cleanest combustion possible when necessary.

Unlike many in the field, Rieker鈥檚 discoveries span an array of disciplines beyond combustion.

鈥淲hen I finished graduate school, I took a non-traditional path to start a small company and later to embed myself in a physics lab,鈥� Rieker said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 obvious whether these choices would lead to success or failure, and I soon found they led to both.鈥�

Rieker hopes others will see his accomplishments in light of the failures that paved the way.

During summer 2020, Rieker will receive his award at the 38th International Symposium on Combustion in Australia. Looking ahead, Rieker would like to get spectrometers into as many hands as possible and believes there may be opportunities to apply his techniques to quantum research next.

Rieker said he is thankful to his research group, to Professor John Daily for nominating him and ushering in the resurgence of combustion research at 91福利社, to his mentors Nate Newbury, Ian Coddington and Ron Hanson, and to his wife and 鈥渟ecret weapon,鈥� Julie Steinbrenner.

Associate Professor Greg Rieker has been awarded two top international awards: the Peter Werle Early Career Scientist Award and the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award.

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