Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Department News

Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) Scholarships for Mechanical and Energy Engineering
October 22, 2010

The Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) has committed two $2,500 expendable scholarships for the 2011-2012 academic year: one for Logistics, and one for Mechanical and Energy Engineering. On October 7th a check presentation ceremony took place at the UNT Alumi Association lobby. MEE major Ms. Jordan Simleness (click here to see more about Jordan) and Dr. Yong Tao, Chair of MEE department attended the ceremony along with other faculty, students and guests.

Please join us to thank TIDA for their generosity and share the impact of this gift.

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Dr. Aleksandra Fortier joined MEE Department in Fall semester, 2010
August 24, 2010

Dr. Aleksandra Fortier joined the College of Engineering, in the Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department at University of North Texas as an Assistant Professor in August of 2010. Her primary research focus involves Pb-Free electronic systems and developing new ways to promote the correct operation, and system reliability, specific research topics include but are not limited to: nano-based Pb-Free technology; processing, characterization, defects identification, and application of Pb-Free electronic materials and components; metal and alloy based electroplating processes; Sn whisker phenomenon; numerical analysis and simulation of residual stresses in thin films. Additional research topics of her interest are: residual stress analysis using X-Ray Diffraction technologies; polymer and metal based composite materials; and rapid prototyping of biomedical components using Ink-Jet Printing Technologies.
She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Engineering Management in 2009, and BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering in 2005 and 2006, from Southern Methodist University. Her research work has been published in several international journals such as Journal of Electronic Materials, and IEEE Transactions on Electronic Packaging Manufacturing. She currently serves as reviewer for Journal of Electronic Materials, and is an active member of several professional societies among which ASME, SME, SWE, TSPE, TMS etc.

Dr. Yong X. Tao appointed MEE Department Chair and PACCAR Professor of Engineering
June 10, 2010

Dr. Yong X. Tao has more than 20 years of research and 17 years of teaching experience. Prior to joining UNT, he was the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, and a Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. An internationally known researcher in fundamentals of thermal sciences, refrigeration system performance, and renewable energy applications in buildings, he was also Director of the Building Energy, Environment, and Conservation Systems Lab (BEECS) and Multi-Phase Thermal Engineering Lab (MPTE) at FIU.

Dr. Tao has produced a total of more than 154 journal publications, book chapters, edited journals and proceedings, and peer-reviewed technical conference papers over the course of his career, and holds two patents. He has received more than 12.2 million dollars of research funding as a single PI or Co-PI in multidisciplinary teamwork projects from the NSF, NASA, Air Force, DSL, DOE, ASHRAE and various industries. He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Science and Engineering Applications, and a reviewer for several international journals in his research field. Recent research interests include transport phenomena in multiphase media, constructal microchannel heat exchangers, NPCM enhanced heat transfer, low temperature heat transfer, alternative energy, engineering education, and entrepreneurship. Dr. Tao also works closely with researchers within and outside the University, and founded or co-founded such interdisciplinary research initiatives as the Sustainable Construction Research and Education Initiative (SCREI) and Energy Research Group (ERG) at FIU and beyond

For more information on Dr. Tao, please visit his website.

First MEE Senior Design Project Showcased: A Human-Powered Entertainment Center
April 17, 2010

The MEE Department's first Senior Design Project was showcased on April 17 at the Live Green Expo in the City of Plano. Under the guidance of Dr. Matthew J. Traum, MEE Seniors Jerod Day, Brian Kaylor, and Michael Walton designed and constructed a human-powered generator built around six mountain bikes to charge a bank of batteries. Energy stored in the batteries powered a large television set and a Nintendo Wii. Expo visitors alternated between playing video games and pedaling bicycles, gaining insight into the amount of physical effort required to operate common entertainment center electronics. This successful educational demonstration earned UNT's Pedal Power Project a hat-tip from Pegasus News. Read the report published on Pegasus News

UNT Signs Texas ME Transfer Compact
November 1, 2009

On October 22 and 23, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board sponsored a reception and breakfast in Arlington, TX to "kickoff" the Mechanical Engineering Transfer Compact. This voluntary Compact among signatory institutions within the State of Texas is intended to increase the number and preparedness of students matriculating from two-year community colleges into baccalaureate programs in mechanical engineering at four-year universities. Dr. Reza Mirshams, who attended the kickoff, served on the Mechanical Engineering Articulated Transfer Curriculum Committee, which developed the language of the Compact. At the kickoff, Dean Costas Tsatsoulis represented the UNT College of Engineering while Dr. Matthew J. Traum represented the Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department.

Dr. Kuruvilla John, CENG new Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, joins MEE
September 1, 2009

Dr. Kuruvilla John joined UNT’s College of Engineering as the new Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. Prior to coming to UNT, Dr. John served as the Interim Dean of the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering at Texas A&M University – Kingsville. He is joining the college’s leadership team under the guidance of Dean Costas Tsatsoulis and he will primarily be responsible for strategic growth in externally sponsored research and graduate student enrollment within each of the departments. In this capacity, he will work closely with faculty, as well as with the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, to develop new graduate programs and secure additional external research funding streams.

Dr. John will hold an academic appointment as a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering. He obtained his B. Tech degree in Chemical engineering from Anna University in India in 1986. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees also in chemical engineering from the University of Iowa in 1989 and 1996, respectively. He worked as a visiting scientist at IBM’s Bergen Scientific Centre in Norway and as a research associate with the State University of New York at Albany prior to moving to Texas in 1995.

Dr. John started his academic career at Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK). Recently, as the interim dean of the college of engineering, he was responsible for significant growth in both undergraduate and graduate student enrollment as well as in research. He was involved in the development of a doctoral program in environmental engineering. Under his leadership, the department of environmental engineering recruited highly accomplished faculty and students and very recently the graduate program was ranked in the top 50 as per US News and World Report. He mentored several junior faculty while at TAMUK and three faculty members in his department received the prestigious NSF-CAREER award. Dr. John was responsible in securing over 30 externally sponsored research contracts, grants and projects worth over $18 million since 1996. He served as the principal investigator and project director of a National Science Foundation funded center for research excellence in science and technology. The multi-disciplinary collaborative center was focused on coastal environmental sustainability and it was funded at $ 1 million per year. His research interests are in the area of air pollution and air quality modeling and monitoring. He has supervised over 40 MS students and 3 PhD students at TAMUK. He has published quite extensively and very recently co-edited a book titled “The Changing Climate of South Texas 1900-2100: Problems and Prospects, Impacts and Implications”.

For more information on Dr. John, please visit his website.

Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico (UAEM) visits MEE
August 31, 2009

On August 27 the MEE department received a visiting delegation from Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico (UAEM) with which UNT has had a sustained academic agreement during several years. UAEM has a fully staffed liaison office in the UNT Denton campus (http://www.uaemex-unt.org/).

The delegation was composed of Dr Sergio Franco-Maass, Vice President for Research and Advanced Studies, and Dr. Maria Esther Morales-Fajardo, Director for International Cooperation. They were escorted by Fernando Guzman, of the liaison office. Two UAEM students (Angel Bravo-Salgado and Iris Gomez-Lopez) currently conducting PhD studies in the UNT’s computer science program also attended and contributed to the meeting.

MEE students Davis, Fallwell, Farris, and Day explained the research posters they had previously presented at University Scholars Day. All MEE faculty presented a brief overview of their research. An interesting exchange of ideas between the UAEM visitors and MEE and faculty followed.

Major results of the visit are: 1) MEE is interested in potential Masters students from UAEM and the department has available teaching assistantships to support these students, assuming approval of TOEFL and GRE. 2) Dr. Franco-Maass informed about interests in joint research projects, and will send information on potential peers to MEE faculty. He also informed about summer internships for UAEM students at UNT, and the forthcoming visit of Dean C. Tsatsoulis to UAEM. Dr. Franco-Maas will be glad to receive the visit of a representative of MEE as part of the UNT CENG’s delegation.