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. 

Andrew van Paridon is a senior lecturer and research associate in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. His research includes thermal modelling, spacecraft propulsion, and mission planning. Currently, he is investigating the performance of ceramic radiators with embedded heat pipes that would facilitate nuclear electric propulsion engines, as well as developing mission concepts for smallsats, including a demonstration of soft robotic grippers in space.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford, UK, where he studied the effects of thermal control on the fatigue life of turbine discs 

Ziyong Li serves as a postdoctoral researcher at the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. His research includes advanced manufacturing, thermal management, and biomedical engineering. Currently, he is engaged in the development of architected ceramic heat pipes that can enhance the performance of spacecraft propulsion engines, as well as biocompatible ceramic implants for orthopedic applications.  He obtained his Ph.D. from the City University of Hong Kong, where he conducted research on the lithographic 3D printing of multiscale glass components for multifunctionality.

Prithwish Biswas received his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Riverside, and is currently a Postdoctoral Associate in the Sobhani Lab. Through his PhD and first postdoctoral appointment, he developed combined experimental and computational expertise in investigating kinetics, transport phenomena, and dielectric relaxation in condensed materials under extreme conditions. In the Sobhani Lab, he primarily focuses on thermodynamic property calculations and transport property measurements to develop machine learning models for the discovery of new ionic liquids for thermal management under cryogenic conditions. In parallel, he is involved in projects focused on understanding transport phenomena during self-propagating reactions in porous materials. He has contributed to the field of materials for energy applications through several publications and patents. 

Bryce Kingsley is a postdoctoral associate in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. His current research is focused on the fabrication and experimental evaluation of additively-manufactured nano- and micro-porous electrospray emitters for Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) thruster systems, as part of the DARPA TALOS grant. In his work, Bryce uses Two-Photon Polymerization (TPP) printing to fabricate micro-scale electrospray emitters with architected porous geometry to optimize fluid flow and electrospray performance. He received his Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering in 2024 from Binghamton University under supervision of Prof. Paul Chiarot, where he studied additive electrospray deposition of functional polymer coatings in electronics packaging and healthcare systems.

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.

Josh is a PhD student in mechanical engineering, focusing on understanding and mitigating degradation of carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction reactors, systems used to convert CO2 into useful products, such as chemicals and fuels. He uses an array of advanced analysis techniques such as X-ray imaging, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and gas chromatography, to characterize and improve the performance of high temperature solid oxide and vapor fed reactors. Josh earned his BS in mechanical engineering with a minor in computational science from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2021. He previously conducted research at the University of Alabama, investigating porous inserts for instability mitigation in lean direct injection combustion systems. Outside of his academic work, Josh is a student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, avid CrossFitter, and enjoys skiing and scuba diving.

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.

 Yuseok is a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on additive manufacturing. His research specializes in integrating machine learning to enhance productivity and precision in this field, along with expertise in microfabrication. He obtained both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Pusan National University in 2021 and 2023, respectively. His previous research includes the fabrication of porous artificial grafts for vascular applications and improving productivity in material extrusion additive manufacturing through unsupervised and reinforcement learning. Currently, he is concentrating on advancements in ceramic 3D printing.