People

Dr. Sobhani received her doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, where she also completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Her dissertation focused on volume-averaged and pore-scale simulations of combustion in porous materials as well as non-intrusive x-ray diagnostics development. During her PhD, she worked as a research associate at the NASA Ames Research Center, where she combined high-fidelity simulations with x-ray tomography to study radiative heat transfer in thermal protection fibrous materials. She later joined the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher in the simulation and modeling of electrochemical systems for carbon conversion. 

Giancarlo is a mechanical engineering PhD student focusing on research in the field of additive manufacturing, particularly the thermal and mechanical properties of 3D printed ceramic structures. Before transitioning to the engineering field, Giancarlo obtained a BA in anthropology from Hobart College. After some time working in industry, he returned to school and received a BS in mechanical engineering at the University of the District of Columbia. His undergraduate engineering research included work with direct metal laser sintering, triply periodic minimal surface lattice structures, and electrochemical 3D printing. He has also interned at both the US Naval Research Lab where he conducted electrochemical corrosion studies as and at NASA Johnson Space Center, working with the VIPER Thermal Engineering team. 

Aniruddha obtained his B.Tech (Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 2021, where he primarily worked on complex fluids, molecular dynamics of nano-particles and fluid-structure interactions. His works have been published in three prestigious scientific journals during his undergraduate research. He was a research assistant at the Indian Institute of Science, where he conducted experiments to understand universality in polymeric coalescence. In his Ph.D. work, Aniruddha develops computational models and topology optimization methods for efficient transport and energy conversion applications. Outside of academics, he is a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes, folk music, table tennis and badminton.

Joshua is an aerospace engineering PhD student focusing on the development of computational models to optimize the topology of porous media for carbon capture and efficient energy conversion. He earned a BS in mechanical engineering with a minor in computational science and concentration in aerospace from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2021. He has significant experience with manufacturing techniques through multiple internships and independent projects. He also spent one summer as a research assistant at the University of Alabama, where he investigated the effect of porous inserts on instability mitigation in lean direct injection combustion. Outside of academics, Joshua enjoys running, lifting weights, skiing, and scuba diving.

Charlotte is a mechanical engineering PhD student focusing on using additive manufactured of wood to understand burning behavior in forest fires. She earned her BS in physics from the University of Michigan in May of 2021. She also spent a year as an intern for the National Energy Technology Laboratory - Pittsburgh, studying the combination of rotating detonation engines and magnetohydrodynamics. Beyond academic activities, charlotte loves to knit and crochet and sing karaoke with her friends.

Nick is a mechanical engineering PhD student focusing on the thermal and mechanical behavior of additively manufactured ceramic structures both computationally and experimentally. Nick earned a BS in civil engineering from Central Connecticut State University and an MS in aerospace engineering from WPI. While earning his MS, he led research in supersonic combustion, specifically deflagration to detonation transition, and worked for over 2 years at General Dynamics Electric Boat as a structural engineer. He also has experience in studying autoimmune disease, the gut microbiome, and nutrition with interests in precision medicine. Outside of academics, he has his CrossFit level 1 certificate and trains daily, he is also a competitive golfer and enjoys riding his Harley.

Elif is an aerospace engineering PhD student focusing on the design of novel ionic liquids for spacecraft thermal management by leveraging machine learning. She earned both her BS degree in astronautical engineering (2021) and MS degree in aeronautics and astronautics engineering (2023) from Istanbul Technical University (ITU). Her previous research in ITU consists of experimental fluid dynamics, specifically experimental investigation of vortex gusts. Outside of academics, Elif enjoys snowboarding, volleyball, cooking, and traveling.

Saadhvik is an Aerospace MEng student working on developing embedded cooling channels for hall thruster applications. Before Cornell, Saadhvik obtained his B.E in Mechanical Engineering from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India in 2023. During his undergraduate studies, Saadhvik worked alongside the Canadian Space Agency as part of a research internship, on their additively manufactured lunar rover. For his final year project, Saadhvik worked on optimizing wheel loader characteristics for Bull Machines M/s. Apart from his mechanical and aerospace studies, Saadhvik loves to cook, trek, and play battle simulators.

Calvin is an undergraduate studying Mechanical Engineering with a business minor. He is working on using the material properties of gas diffusion layers to increase efficiency in CO2 reduction reactions. Calvin also enjoys skateboarding, going to the beach, and writing news articles.

Continued on to: GE Research, Edison Engineer