Nanci Hellmich

Fairfax Police land helicopter on campus to explain the rotorcraft’s mechanics to engineering students

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 12:35:32 +0000

Fairfax Police land helicopter on campus to explain the rotorcraft’s mechanics to engineering students 4429684e-ae8d-… Mon, 03/08/2021 - 07:35

Topics

Volgenau School of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering

aeronautics

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Kenneth Ball

Leigh McCue-Weil

Find Out About Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering students get a close-up look at the Bell 429 helicopter.

Students studying aeronautics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering got an up-close look at how a helicopter works when the Fairfax Police landed one on campus recently and explained its functionality.

Mason Engineering’s second-semester senior aeronautics class (ME 499) focuses on rotary-wing flight vehicle performance, stability/control, and unmanned aircraft systems.

To bring some of the ideas of the class to life, adjunct professor Robert Gallo asked Captain Michael Shamblin, Helicopter Division Commander of the Fairfax County Police Department, to provide a practical demonstration of vertical lift with their Bell 429 helicopter.

The helicopter landed on the lawn outside Merten Hall one afternoon in late February, and the police flight crew demonstrated how the cyclic and collective flight systems affect motion and control of the rotor blades.

Among those attending the class with the aeronautics students were: Mason president Gregory Washington, Provost and Executive Vice President Mark Ginsberg, Volgenau School of Engineering Dean Ken Ball, and Mechanical Engineering Department Chair Leigh McCue.

“YouTube videos and PowerPoints only go so far in explaining the complexities of vertical lift,” Gallo says, “so having the Fairfax Police here helped our students understand how the helicopter rotor generates lift and allows it to fly in all directions.”

Mechanical engineering senior Mason Chee agrees. “We were able to look inside at the controls that they use to pilot a helicopter, and we learned about some of the effects the helicopter encounters during its flight. You can read about the theories and watch videos about them, but nothing comes as close as seeing it live.”

Vanessa Barth, a mechanical engineering senior, adds, “They were teaching us about the mechanical components and systems that control a helicopter. It was all information we talked about in class, but to see it in person was helpful.”

Gallo says the Fairfax Police were highly engaging and did an outstanding job answering questions, not only from our students but also from the faculty and staff in attendance.

New research on artificial microswimmers uncovers a possible solution for delivering targeted cancer treatments

4429684e-ae8d-405e-870a-3b7aefe68162 (Martha Bushong) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 13:32:56 +0000

New research on artificial microswimmers uncovers a possible solution for delivering targeted cancer treatments 4429684e-ae8d-… Fri, 02/26/2021 - 08:32

Topics

Volgenau School of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering

Healthcare Technology

In This Story

Jeffrey Moran

A Mason Engineering researcher has discovered that artificial microswimmers accumulate where their speed is minimized, an idea that could have implications for improving the efficacy of targeted cancer therapy.

Jeff Moran, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Volgenau School of Engineering, and colleagues from the University of Washington in Seattle studied self-propelled half-platinum/half-gold rods that “swim” in water using hydrogen peroxide as a fuel. The more peroxide there is, the faster the swimming; without peroxide in pure water, the rods don’t swim.

In this work, they set out to understand what happens when these artificial microswimmers are placed in a fluid reservoir containing a gradient of hydrogen peroxide––lots of peroxide on one side, not much on the other side.

They found that, predictably, the microswimmers swam faster in regions with high peroxide concentration, says Moran, whose research was published in the new issue of Scientific Reports.

As others had observed, the direction of swimming varied randomly in time as the swimmers explored their surroundings. In contrast, in the low-concentration regions, the rods slowed down and accumulated in these regions over the course of a few minutes.

The results suggest a simple strategy to make microswimmers passively accumulate in specific regions, an idea that might have useful, practical applications, he says.

Swimming at the microscopic scale is a ubiquitous phenomenon in biology, Moran says. “Lots of cells and microorganisms, such as bacteria, can autonomously swim toward higher or lower concentrations of chemicals that benefit or harm the cell, respectively.”

This behavior is called chemotaxis, and it’s both common and important, he says. “For example, your immune cells use chemotaxis to detect and swim toward sites of injury, so they can initiate tissue repair.”

Moran and colleagues, like others in the field, have long been curious whether artificial microswimmers can mimic cells by performing chemotaxis, continuously swimming toward higher chemical concentrations. Some had claimed that the platinum/gold rods, in particular, could swim autonomously toward peroxide-rich regions.

“We were skeptical of these claims since the rods aren’t alive, and therefore they don’t have the sensing and response capabilities that are necessary for cells to execute this behavior,” he says.

“Instead, we found the opposite: the rods built up in the lower concentration regions. This is the opposite of what one would expect from chemotaxis,” Moran says.

The researchers conducted computer simulations that predicted this and validated them with experiments, he says.

“We propose a simple explanation for this behavior: Wherever they are, the rods move in randomly varying directions, exploring their surroundings. When they get to a low-fuel region, they can’t explore as vigorously. In a sense, they get trapped in their comfort zones,” Moran says.

“Conversely, in the high-peroxide regions, they move at higher speeds and, because their direction is constantly changing, escape from these regions more often. Over time, the net result is that rods accumulate in low-concentration regions,” he says. “They don’t have any intelligence. They end up where their mobility is the lowest.”

Moran says this research is promising from a technical standpoint because it suggests a new strategy to make chemicals accumulate in a highly acidic area.

“Due to their abnormal metabolic processes, cancer cells cause their immediate surroundings to become acidic. These are the cells that need the most drugs because the acidic environment is known to promote metastasis and confer resistance to drugs. Thus, the cells in these regions are a major target of many cancer therapies.”

Moran and colleagues are now designing microswimmers that move slowly in acidic regions and fast in neutral or basic regions. Through the mechanism they discovered here, they hypothesize that acid-dependent swimmers will accumulate and release their cargo preferentially where their speeds are minimized, namely the most acidic and hypoxic regions of the tumor, where the most problematic cells reside.

There is much more research to be conducted, but “these rods may have the ability to deliver chemotherapy drugs to the cancer cells that need them the most,” Moran says.

“To be clear, our study doesn’t prove that chemotaxis is impossible in artificial microswimmers, period; just that these particular microswimmers don’t undergo chemotaxis.

“Instead, we’ve identified an elegantly simple method of causing unguided microswimmers to accumulate and deliver drugs to the most problematic cancer cells, which could have implications for the treatment of many cancers, as well as other diseases like fibrosis. We’re excited to see where this goes.”

Faculty redesign lab courses to provide safe instruction during pandemic

Nanci Hellmich — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 22:59:49 +0000

Faculty redesign lab courses to provide safe instruction during pandemic Nanci Hellmich Mon, 08/31/2020 - 18:59

Beth Lattanzi, an instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, teaches students how to test materials’ strength, ductility, hardness, and fatigue life using state-of-the-art equipment in ME 311: Mechanical Experimentation, a one-credit lab course. Students must social distance during the class. Photo by Evan Cantwell

Laboratory workstations are spaced far apart and cleaned between students for the civil engineering master's course, CEIE 636: Sources of Geotechnical Data. Students get hands-on experience in quantifying and assessing the properties of soils in the course taught by Burak Tanyu, associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering.

Students in a civil engineering graduate laboratory course, CEIE 636: Sources of Geotechnical Data, are physically distanced during a lecture portion of the class.

Engineers are by nature problem solvers, so the challenge of what to do about teaching labs during the pandemic gave Mason Engineering faculty a chance to use their ingenuity to develop flexible courses for fall 2020.

They spent hours over the summer designing a variety of instructional plans from in-person laboratories that meet the Safe Return to Campus guidelines to hybrid labs that include both virtual and face-to-face components to online labs in which students can do their work remotely if all classes suddenly become virtual because of an outbreak of COVID-19 on campus.

The Department of Bioengineering had to recalibrate BENG 371: Bioinstrumentation and Devices Laboratory, a one-credit course that introduces students to the concepts and electronic tools needed to make biomedical measurements, says Randy Warren, an adjunct faculty member who teaches the class and is the department’s lab manager.

Two sessions of the lab with a total of 26 students are offered in two large lab rooms in Peterson Hall on the Fairfax Campus.

“Students build circuits, test them, and see the responses,” Warren says. “Most have had no experience in this area outside of what they learned in physics. It’s their first time working with this type of equipment. It’s kind of like jumping off the deep end of the pool.”

Last fall, undergraduates worked in pairs in the labs, but because of social distancing guidelines, students are now at individual workstations, which the department increased from nine to 16. These stations’ equipment includes an oscilloscope, a digital multimeter, and an analog/digital trainer; all must be cleaned between classes.

A few students chose to do the class virtually, so the department assembled $400 portable lab kits that students can use at home while watching the lab class online. “They have some of the same equipment as the lab, but it’s not as elaborate,” Warren says.

In case the university must pivot to total distance-learning classes, the bioengineering department is making enough portable test kits for everyone in the class, he says.

The department had to “jump through some hoops,” Warren says. But it’s worth it because “we are trying to provide the same or better level of education in a more challenging environment.”

Similarly, Beth Lattanzi, an instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, worked approximately 150 hours over the summer to develop contingency plans for the 81 students taking ME 311: Mechanical Experimentation, a one-credit lab course in which students take experimental measurements in solid mechanics and materials science.

In the lab on the Science and Technology Campus, students test materials’ strength, ductility, hardness, and fatigue life using state-of-the-art equipment, such as automated hardness testing machines made by the manufacturer Tinius Olsen. “I love this particular class because it’s the first time they get to do a whole semester of hands-on work, and I wanted to maintain that,” Lattanzi says.

Usually, students have one lab a week for the semester, but this fall, they’re coming in once every three weeks to meet physical distancing guidelines, she says.

The other two weeks, students conduct experiments at home that illustrate other concepts they’re learning in the co-requisite course, Material Science. “I’ve made videos showing the procedure as we do it the lab, and the at-home version is analogous but without the big equipment,” she says.

Lattanzi packed 81 experimentation kits with the necessary supplies to run the experiments at home. If the university switches to total distance learning, “I’m going to get even more creative,” she says.

Burak Tanyu, associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, developed a different strategy for the lab he’s teaching this semester.

In his three-credit course, CEIE 636: Sources of Geotechnical Data, students get direct experience in quantifying and assessing the properties of soils. These properties are key factors in designing engineered infrastructures such as foundations, embankments, and earth-retaining structures, as well as assessing the stability of slopes, he says.

“Soils are produced from the weathering of rocks based on the geological processes that take place over a long time,” Tanyu says. “No soil type is the same, even though we may just call them clays or sands. Therefore, students need to have hands-on experience in our laboratory that would not be possible to achieve through virtual learning.”

Tanyu has 12 students in this class. He is teaching this semester with a co-instructor, Aiyoub Abbaspour, to ensure a high-quality education while also implementing all the safety rules for COVID-19.

For example, students are divided into three groups. While one group learns the background and theory associated with an experiment, another group watches how to set up the experiments demonstrated by the instructor via a projector then works in the laboratory by rotating one by one to conduct the tests.

While in the laboratory, each student stands at designated spaces that are marked on the floors with an X. The three workstations are sanitized with alcohol between students’ rotations.

Tanyu hopes that the effort they are putting into the face-to-face lab pays off “with students thoroughly learning the material.”

Mechanical engineering student creates protective face shields for hospital personnel

Nanci Hellmich — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 13:09:16 +0000

Mechanical engineering student creates protective face shields for hospital personnel Nanci Hellmich Tue, 04/14/2020 - 09:09

"However small, anyone can find ways to make a world of difference for someone else.”

— Dhawal Bhanderi, mechanical engineering junior

Dhawal Bhanderi, a junior in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is using his 3D printer to make face shields for the personnel at two hospitals in Norfolk, Virginia.

Mechanical engineering junior Dhawal Bhanderi is using his entrepreneurial spirit to help protect some of society’s heroes during the coronavirus pandemic.

He’s making protective face shields with his 3D printer from his family’s home in Virginia Beach while he finishes his classes remotely. “I am donating the face shields to two local hospitals where workers are on the frontlines fighting the pandemic,” Bhanderi says.

He runs his 3D printer all day to create the headband component of the shield. When he has several ready to assemble, he puts on rubber gloves and attaches the plastic shield to the headband.

“I can produce 20 quality shields a week, and while it may not sound like a great deal, the medical staff appreciate having this kind of personal protective equipment,” he says.

Each face shield costs him between 75 cents and $1.50. He buys the supplies for the shields from the money he makes from his hobby of buying used electronics online, fixing them, and then reselling them.

The donation coordinators at the hospitals—Sentara Leigh Hospital and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, both in Norfolk, Virginia—were excited to have face shields because there’s such a shortage, he says.

“Dhawal has taken the initiative to make a difference in his community in these challenging times,” says adjunct professor George Siragusa, Bhanderi’s instructor for the Entrepreneurship for Engineers class. “This kind of leadership is heartwarming and sheds a positive light on our program at Mason Engineering.”

Bhanderi is interested in both research and entrepreneurship. He conducts autonomous boat research in the Vessel Dynamics Laboratory with Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Leigh McCue.

After he finishes his undergraduate degree, Bhanderi plans to continue his research while obtaining a master’s degree in electrical engineering at Mason and delving into the robotics field. He has several ideas for robotics start-up companies.

In the meantime, he has learned that “however small, anyone can find ways to make a world of difference for someone else.”

Engineering students step up to help others during coronavirus crisis

Nanci Hellmich — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 12:34:08 +0000

Engineering students step up to help others during coronavirus crisis Nanci Hellmich Sun, 03/29/2020 - 08:34

Statistics major Brody Receveur (right) and his parents invited computer science sophomore Nawaf Alshathri to live with them in Hampton, Virginia for the rest of the semester because Alshathri can't make it back to his home in Saudi Arabia.

Mason Engineering students are using their innovative skills to solve more than engineering problems.

They are coming up with creative ways to do random acts of kindness, both big and small, during the coronavirus outbreak.

For example, statistics major Brody Receveur and his family invited computer science sophomore Nawaf Alshathri to stay with them for the rest of the semester.

The students are friends who lived in the same residence hall at Mason. When classes became virtual after spring break, Receveur was at home with his parents in Hampton, Virginia, while Alshathri was on campus because he couldn’t get back to his home in Saudi Arabia.

Receveur asked his parents if Alshathri could come live with them for a while, and they agreed. Receveur returned to the Fairfax Campus to pick up Alsharthri.

Mason Engineering students Brody Receveur (left) and Nawaf Alshathri (center) are spending time with Receveur's parents April and Tim in Hampton, Virginia, while the students finish their courses remotely.

When they’re not taking their classes online or studying, the two have been working out together, walking on the beach, and playing board games with the family.

“I taught him how to make Yankee cornbread and steaks,” says Receveur, an Honors College student. “He’s gardening with my mom (April), and my dad (Tim) is talking to him about the history of our area. My dad wrote a book about it. They talk all the time.”

Alshathri says he’s enjoying his time with the Receveur family. “Tough times make the best qualities of people shine,” he says. “The Receveurs have been caring and kind. They took me in during this period of uncertainty, and they are teaching me valuable life skills. I will have some vegetables that should be grown by the end of the semester, thanks to them.”

He’s also enjoying the family dog, Puzzles, and he enjoys playing with their dog when he is done with his work for the day.

Alshathri says the family living near the beach is a bonus. “You expect to be locked up during quarantine, but the beach is pretty empty, so we can go out and take walks.”

Other members of the Mason Engineering community are finding ways to show kindness to faculty, family, and others while still maintaining social distancing:

Angelica Watson, a senior in mechanical engineering, has been doing random acts of kindness daily, including calling to check on her grandmother.

Reaching out virtually

Angelica Watson, a mechanical engineering senior, has been calling her grandmother every day to check on her. When her grandmother asked why she was calling so often, Watson said to remind her to stay home and be safe.

Watson also has been going to the grocery store to get supplies for her family. “Today when I went looking for some cleaning supplies, there was an older lady in the store who couldn’t reach the bleach on a higher shelf, so I passed her two bottles of it,” she says.

“I also saw a lady looking for toilet paper, and I gave her a pack of wipes that I had picked up. ... It’s the little things that warm people’s hearts.”

Arash Touhidi, a senior in electrical engineering, gave his entire paycheck to a Mason alumna who is struggling financially.

Paying it forward

When Arash Touhidi, a senior in electrical engineering, heard about a Mason alumna/friend who was struggling financially in part due to the coronavirus outbreak, he knew he wanted to help.

“Although it wasn’t much, I gave her the money from my recent paycheck from my work at the Bioinspired Robotics and Intelligent Control Lab so that she can get by,” he says.

“I live with my mom so I don’t have many bills, except for a car payment and insurance” he says.

“I’m still texting with my friend, and we’re offering each other moral support.”

Mechanical engineering major Vineet Nair sent emails to faculty thanking them for preparing for remote classes over the extended spring break.

Sending a word of thanks

Vineet Nair, a senior in mechanical engineering, sent emails to several faculty members and staff thanking them for going the extra mile to make online learning work.

“I can’t imagine how hard it was for them to prepare to do this in a week or so,” he says. “They are trying to give us our money’s worth and give us the tools we need when we graduate.

“I’ve had two or three classes, and there have been some challenges, but overall, it’s going very smoothly. I think what they are doing right now is tremendous.”

Ivory Sarceno, a mechanical engineering major, is sending funny stories to her family in the United States and Guatemala.

Lifting up others with humor

Ivory Sarceno, a senior in mechanical engineering, has been doing her best to stay in touch with her family in Guatemala and the United States while practicing social distancing.

Everyone is stressed out, and during this time laughter is still the best medicine, she says.

“I’ve started a family group chat with 11 members through WhatsApp where my family can share memes and uplifting stories, and most importantly our love and support for each other.”

Systems Engineering senior Jason Nembhard shared safety tips for preventing the coronavirus with a friend who might have been exposed.

Sharing safety insights

Jason Nembhard, a senior in systems engineering, says a friend of his became alarmed when someone in his building in Arlington was diagnosed with COVID-19.

“Naturally, he was stressed about catching the virus,” Nembhard says.

“I reached out to him to talk about what he's going through and suggested ways he can keep himself safe. I was able to pass along the personal safety information I had learned from my mom, who is a nurse at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.”

“He told me thank you, and then he went to work cleaning and disinfecting his apartment,” Nembhard says.

Elizabeth Johnson, an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics, said it made her day when her students wished her "Happy Birthday" in their Blackboard chat.

Brightening a professor's day

When the statistics students in one of assistant professor Elizabeth Johnson’s classes found out that it was her birthday one day recently, they all started writing "Happy Birthday" in the Blackboard chat.

“It was unexpected, and it made my day,” she says.

If you’ve done some random acts of kindness for others and would like to share them, please email your story to Nanci Hellmich.

Stories from throughout the Mason community can be submitted here.

Workshop offers opportunity to learn about jobs and research for the Navy

Nanci Hellmich — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 15:25:18 +0000

Workshop offers opportunity to learn about jobs and research for the Navy Nanci Hellmich Tue, 02/18/2020 - 10:25

Leigh McCue, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, says Mason students are invited to attend a workshop that gives students insights into jobs with the Navy, as well as research opportunities.

George Mason faculty and students who are interested in naval research and civilian careers with the Navy are invited to attend a workshop on March 6 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division in Bethesda, Maryland.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is organizing the Workshop to Enhance Opportunities for Naval Workforce Development, as part of a related Office of Naval Research grant. Registration is free.

Students will be able to engage in dialogue with Carderock department heads, local university deans and department chairs, and rising stars in the Navy and academia as they share their thoughts on how to build the naval workforce of the future, says Leigh McCue, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The day’s events include a keynote lecture, panel discussions, and a poster session in which faculty and students will showcase their Navy-relevant research.

The ONR grant supports efforts for students to become part of the Navy career talent pipeline and provides an opportunity for faculty to engage in cutting-edge research that supports the mission of the Navy and Marine Corps, says Mechanical Engineering Department Chair Oscar Barton, Jr, the grant’s principal investigator.

More information and the agenda are online.

If you are interested in showcasing your classroom or research projects in the poster session, please reach out to McCue.

Mason Engineering students deliver clean water to community in Ecuador

Nanci Hellmich — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 21:01:14 +0000

Mason Engineering students deliver clean water to community in Ecuador Nanci Hellmich Mon, 01/20/2020 - 16:01

Mason's Engineers for International Development "brought water to families that had never had access to potable water before. This is a really large scale project with huge social impacts."

— Dave Lattanzi, associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

In early January, Anna Close, right, and seven other members of Mason's Engineers for International Development traveled to an agriculture community in Ecuador to build a new clean water system for an area where some families had high levels of bacteria in their water while others didn’t have access to running water at all. All eight students worked tirelessly on the project, says Close, who is president of the group.

Mason Engineering students are willing to tackle complex projects, even when it's something as critical as creating a new clean water system for an agricultural community in Ecuador.

Members of Mason’s Engineers for International Development (EfID) traveled to San Pablo de Amali in January 2019, June 2019, and January 2020 for a week at a time to work on the clean water system.

Some families in the area had high levels of bacteria in their water; others didn’t have access to running water at all.

"EfID designed and installed a water storage system, a massive retention pond, and several miles of buried pipe," says Dave Lattanzi, an associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering and the group’s faculty advisor.

"They brought water to families that had never had access to potable water before. This is a really large scale project with huge social impacts,” he says.

After the first two trips to Ecuador to assess the area and design the system, the students returned in January to build the man-made pond with water from the nearby Limon River, and they laid the pipes to eight homes in the community.

“All eight students on the trip worked tirelessly all week to get the project done, including the connections to the houses, the pond, and a concrete pad designed to hold two tanks filled with 5,000 liters of water,” says civil engineering senior Anna Close, president of EfID.

Mechanical engineering senior Paul Cipparone, vice president of EfID, adds, “We had help from a municipal government employee who ran an excavator. The guy was a wizard with the equipment.”

Residents were excited when the new system became operational. “They were overjoyed at having clean water in their homes,” Cipparone says.

The next phase of the project, on which they’ll work on in June, involves adding UV disinfection to the water, as well as piping to the rest of the area’s 50 homes.

The group has conducted projects in Nicaragua, Honduras, the Peruvian Andes, and the Amazon, addressing small communities’ concerns about water shortages, clean water access, sanitation, and hygiene.

"EfID has created tremendous social impact through their work and embodies the spirit of our university," says Lattanzi, the John Toups Faculty Fellow in civil engineering. "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to see their work first hand, and I’ve never been more proud of our institution.”

The group’s projects are funded by the Civil Engineering Institute and EfID fundraising events.

The most recent trip included eight students, Lattanzi, technical advisor Matthew Doyle, and outside advisor Ingrid Davis-Colato of Michael Baker International.

Cipparone says this experience was life-changing for him. “In my career, I want to do tangible work that is beneficial for people’s lives.”

“All eight students on the trip worked tirelessly all week to get the project done, including the connections to the houses, the pond, and a concrete pad designed to hold two tanks filled with 5,000 liters of water.”

— Anna Close, civil engineering senior and president of EfID

Engineering students help bring clean water to village in Ecuador

Nanci Hellmich — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 17:40:59 +0000

Engineering students help bring clean water to village in Ecuador Nanci Hellmich Wed, 10/09/2019 - 13:40

"Even though we had to deal with the landslide, we worked with the community to design another great distribution system that will help everyone.”

— Civil engineering senior Anna Close, president of EfID

Members of the Engineers for International Development (EfID) are building a new clean water system for a small village in Ecuador. Pictured here from left: Don Manuel with members of EfID including Paul Cipparone, Anna Close, Ben Tieu, Sylvia McLain, local resident Darwin Paredes, faculty advisor Matt Doyle, Rachel Conrad, Mike Belay, and Hannah Saggua.

Mason Engineering students are known for tackling complex problems. That’s why they aren’t letting a landslide get in their way when designing a new clean water system for a small agricultural community in Ecuador.

Several members of Mason’s chapter of the Engineers for International Development (EfID) traveled to San Pablo de Amali in January 2019 to assess the area’s current water system and find a way to improve it. They discovered that the drinking water in the agricultural community has high levels of bacteria, and many homes don’t have access to running water.

The group decided to use the Chontayacu River as a source of water for a new system. “We were planning to return in June to build a sophisticated filtration system, but in the spring, there was a landslide that reduced the river’s flow so we had to find a different source of water,” says mechanical engineering senior Paul Cipparone, vice president of EfID.

On their summer trip, the students chose a new site for the system on the Limon River, upstream from the village. “The river goes through the village, but we can’t make the intake in the middle of it because then gravity won’t bring water to the people upstream,” he says. “We have to put our intake system at a higher elevation so the top houses in the community can get it, too.”

Civil engineering senior Anna Close, president of EfID, says, "Even though we had to deal with the landslide, we worked with the community to design another great distribution system that will help everyone.”

The municipal government will use its trenching equipment to get the water piped into the area's 50 homes.

“We want everyone to have access to clean water, but we won't be tearing out the old system in case someone decides that they still want to use it,” Close says.

EfID has conducted projects in Nicaragua, Honduras, the Peruvian Andes, and the Amazon, addressing small communities' concerns about water shortages, clean water access, sanitation, and hygiene. “They do phenomenal work," says Dave Lattanzi, an associate professor in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering.

The group's projects are funded by the Civil Engineering Institute, and EfID raises money with events, such as its 5K/10K Fun Run at Burke Lake Park on November 2.

In January, the group will return to Ecuador with eight students, Lattanzi, faculty advisor Matthew Doyle, and outside advisor Ingrid Davis-Colato of Michael Baker International.

“We will be building the water filtration system, barring another landslide,” Cipparone says.

Professor’s team explores the use of nanomaterials for water treatment technology

Nanci Hellmich — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 12:45:03 +0000

Professor’s team explores the use of nanomaterials for water treatment technology Nanci Hellmich Mon, 06/03/2019 - 08:45

Assistant professor Pei Dong and her lab group are designing the next generation of nanomaterials for the water-energy nexus. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

When it comes to living in a material world, Mason Engineering researcher Pei Dong is making sustainable strides.

As the industrial sector expands, the demand for water and energy will be even greater than it is today, says Dong, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

To address this challenge, her research team focuses on designing the next generation of materials and using them for the water-energy nexus, the interdependence of water and energy systems.

“A lot of water is used in all phases of energy production, and at the same time, a lot of energy is used for water treatment,” she says. “We have to figure out a way to minimize the input of required energy for the water desalination, so energy-efficient water treatment technology is one of our current research areas.”

"This work has a direct benefit to society," says Oscar Barton Jr., chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Her research explores the development of nanomaterials for use in water treatment, renewable energy, and other technologies.”

Dong’s group is looking for sustainable solutions that involve designing and manufacturing advanced materials, including nanomaterials and polymers.

By modifying materials on the atomic level and developing a deep understanding of the kinetics of the process, her team could create new materials with the needed properties for better performance. “With surface modifications, we can dramatically improve the salt-absorption capacity during the water desalination process,” she says.

The team is also working on low-cost semiconducting materials for solar cells, as well as fabricating all-weather integrated renewable energy devices.

“On a cloudy day, most solar cells only generate around 10 percent to 25 percent of their normal power output," Dong says. "We are working on designing and fabricating ultra-lightweight, robust, flexible solar energy systems, which could operate efficiently under various weather conditions.

“As a diverse team including material scientists, mechanical engineers, and electrical engineers, we are dedicating our green efforts in research and education to promote sustainability for a better tomorrow."

“We are dedicating our green efforts in research and education to promote sustainability for a better tomorrow."

— Pei Dong, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering

"This work has a direct benefit to society."

— Oscar Barton Jr., chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mason’s Rocketry Club soars at competition

Nanci Hellmich — Fri, 19 Apr 2019 19:08:55 +0000

Mason’s Rocketry Club soars at competition Nanci Hellmich Fri, 04/19/2019 - 15:08

Mason's Rocketry Club landed two first place awards in the Battle of the Rockets Competition. Pictured from left to right: Alex Maxseiner, Joe Coffin, Peter Goffe, Will McCarty, Eric Dau, Gary Quaresima, and Zac Yarashus.

Mason’s Rocketry Club captured first place awards in the target altitude event and the Mars rover challenge at the Battle of the Rockets Competition.

This is the second year the group won first place in the target altitude event.

Students from several engineering disciplines teamed up to make the rockets and rover, says Alex Maxseiner, president and founder of the club and a senior in computer engineering.

“We put in a lot of hard work, especially for the Mars rover (robot) challenge,” says Peter Goffe, the club treasurer and a junior majoring in mechanical engineering.

The target altitude event’s objective was to fly a rocket as close as possible to 1,001 feet. The club got three shots at reaching that goal; scoring is based on their best two attempts. Mason’s team was off by only 26 feet in its best two shots.

“Our new members took what we have learned from our experiences and were able to build a very consistent rocket, improving our score from last year,” Maxseiner says.

For the Mars rover (robot) challenge, the team designed a rocket and put a Mars rover inside. The rocket flew more than 1,000 feet, then deployed the rover, which landed safely using its parachute recovery system.

“It’s a little stressful when you are watching the rocket launch,” Goffe says. “If something malfunctions and falls without its recovery system, it’s unsalvageable for the competition. We focused on completing the simple tasks one hundred percent of the time.”

The club members built three rockets this year, working more than two months on that portion of the project. They had several practice launches before the competition, which was held April 13-14 in Culpeper, Virginia.

Maxseiner founded the club in 2016 because he and his peers wanted to get hands-on experience with their classroom work

Faculty advisor Harold A. Geller, Mason's Observatory director, has mentored the group, which welcomes people from all academic backgrounds. They’re looking for younger students to take over, “because most of us are seniors, and we want the club to live on after we graduate,” Maxseiner says.