Research

Sponsors

Current Funded Projects

• NSF CAREER: Multiscale Understanding of Laser-Induced Bubble Dynamics and the Mechanism of Resultant Jet Flow in Thin-Shearing Hydrogels, PI (total funding $598,991, December 2024 - November 2029)

• DOE ARPA-E: Fast Electrowinning via Rotors for Responsible Iron Creation (FERRIC), Co-PI (total funding $2,102,353, July 2024 - June 2027)

• DOE EERE SETO: Reactive Particle Based Thermochemical Energy Storage System for Concentrating Solar-thermal Power (TCES-CSP), Co-PI (total funding: $3,879,669, August 2024 - July 2027)

• DoD OLDCC: The America’s Additive Foundry Consortium, Co-PI (total funding $7,526,385, September 2023 - August 2028)

• NSF CBET TTP: Collaborative Research: Multiscale study of oscillating flow and multiphase heat transfer in porous media, PI, Award number: 2318107 (total funding $171,734, September 2022 - August 2025)

• DOE EERE SETO: Light Trapping, Enclosed Planar-Cavity Receiver for Heating Particles to Enable Low-Cost Energy Storage and Chemical Processes (LTPCR), Co-PI, Award number: DE-EE0009380  (total funding $3,750,000, January 2022 - December 2024)

• University of Houston Presidential Frontier Faculty Fellow Start-up Fund, PI

1. Multiphase heat transfer process in Laser-Assisted 3D Bioprinting Process;

2. Multiphysics modeling of manufacturing process for configurational alloy;

3. Oscillating flow and multiphase heat transfer in bio-inspired porous structures;

4. Large Eddy Simulation of energy conversion process in wave energy converter.

Funded Projects (completed)

1. USDA-REAP: South Texas Energy Efficiency Project (STEEP), PD, Award number: 50-008-515960131 (total funding $99,041, April 2017 – April 2018)

2. NSF: MRI: Acquisition of a Spark Plasma Sintering System for Functional Ceramics at Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Senior Personnel, Award number: 1828672 (total funding $230,000, September 2018 - August 2021)

3. DOE EERE SETO: 3D Printing of Solar Absorber Tube with Internal/External Structures for Heat Transfer Enhancement and Temperature Leveling using Additive Manufacturing Technology, PI, Award number: DE-EE0009380  (total funding $302,765, May 2021 - December 2022)

4. NASA Mississippi EPSCoR RID: The Effects of Interdiffusion on the Radiation Resistance of Boron-mixed Cantor High Entropy Alloy Produced by Selective Laser Melting: A Molecular Dynamic Study, PI, Award number: 22-09-26 (total funding $67,500, September 2021 - May 2023)

5. ACCESS Startup Allocation: Molecular Dynamics Studies of Laser Additive Alloying Produced Boron-mixed High Entropy Alloys in Extreme Environments, PI (total core hours: 100K, January 2023 - February 2024)