Purdue ME grad students receive fellowships and scholarships

The School of Mechanical Engineering has announced recipients for several graduate-level departmental fellowships and scholarships for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Jacob Hunter and Eugenio Frias-Miranda: 2024 Dr. Anil Bajaj Outstanding Service Scholarship

The Dr. Anil K. Bajaj Outstanding Service Scholarship recognizes mechanical engineering graduate students who provide outstanding service to the mechanical engineering graduate student community.

  • Jacob Hunter is a PhD student who works with Neera Jain on human-machine interaction.
  • Eugenio Frias-Miranda is a PhD student working in Laura Blumenshein's Robust and Adaptive Design Lab doing research on soft and wearable robotics.

Rutvik Mehenge: 2024 Harnek and Malkit Gill Scholarship

The School of Mechanical Engineering awards the Harnek and Malkit Gill Graduate Mechanical Engineering Scholarship to graduate students who have spent at least 24 months in India. Rutvik Mehenge is a Professional Master's Program student.

Glynn Gallaway, Aditya Paspunurwar, Anirudh Madhvacharyula, and Md Ashiqur Rahman: 2024/2025 Ben M. Hillberry Graduate Scholarship

The Ben M. Hillberry Graduate Scholarship is sponsored by the students and friends of Professor Ben M. Hillberry in honor of his years of dedication to the School of Mechanical Engineering. The scholarship is for ME graduate students with a preference for students studying in biomechanics or materials.

  • Glynn Gallaway is a PhD student advised by Thomas Siegmund, researching fracture mechanics of bone.
  • Aditya Paspunurwar is a PhD student doing research on computational biomechanics and fluid/solid mechanics. He is advised by Hector Gomez.
  • Anirudh Madhvacharyula is advised by Jong H. Choi.
  • Md Ashiqur Rahman is PhD student and is advised by David Warsinger.

Sthavishtha Bhopalam Rajakumar, Tianyi Hu, Kaustubh Girish Naik, and Abhinand Ayyaswamy: 2024/2025 R.H. Kohr Fellowship

The R. H. Kohr Graduate Student Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering is funded by the R. H. Kohr Educational Memorial Fund in memory of Mechanical Engineering professor Dr. Robert Kohr, who died in a plane crash in 1969. The Fellowship will support ME graduate students in the general areas of simulation, which was Dr. Kohr’s main field of academic interest.

  • Sthavishtha Bhopalam Rajakumar is a PhD student researching modeling droplet transport using phase-field methods and is advised by Hector Gomez.
  • Tianyi Hu is a PhD student doing research on computational fluid/solid mechanics and is advised by Hector Gomez.
  • Kaustubh Girish Naik is a PhD student whose research focuses on energy storage and conversion and he's working on the development of novel battery chemistries. He is advised by Partha Mukherjee.
  • Abhinand Ayyaswamy is a PhD student currently working at the Energy and Transport Sciences Laboratory and is advised by Partha Mukherjee.

Shanmukhi Sripada, Madeleine Yuh, and Ioanna Katsamba: 2024 Hommert Engineering Excellence Fellowship

The Hommert Engineering Excellence Fellowship goes to an outstanding female graduate student enrolled in Mechanical Engineering who has provided excellent service to the School or Purdue community. This fellowship is funded from the estate of Paul and Elizabeth Hommert; Dr. Hommert is a Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Alumnus and Director Emeritus of Sandia National Laboratories.

  • Shanmukhi Sripada is a PhD student working on projects based on thermal metrology in Amy Marconnet's Thermal and Energy Conversion Lab.
  • Madeleine Yuh is a PhD student working with Neera Jain in the field of controls for human-automation interaction.
  • Ioanna Katsamba is advised by Xiulin Ruan, with a research interest in transport phenomena in nanomaterials additive manufacturing and processing.

Pritam Ghoshal: 2024/2025 David Tree Graduate Scholarship

The David Tree Graduate Scholarship is funded by the David Tree Graduate Support Fund in Mechanical Engineering to honor Mechanical Engineering professor Dr. David R. Tree’s legacy. The scholarship will support ME graduate students in acoustics, noise, and vibration area, which was Dr. Tree’s main field of academic interest. Pritam Ghoshal is a graduate research assistant in the Advanced Dynamics and Mechanics lab with Dr. James Gibert.

Aaron Farha, Daniel Carne, Debraliz Isaac Aragones, and Emily Barber: 2024/2025 Raymond Viskanta Graduate Student Scholarship

The Raymond Viskanta Graduate Student Scholarship supports ME graduate students doing graduate studies related to thermal sciences, which was Dr. Viskanta's field of expertise.

  • Aaron Farha is a PhD student working on the DC Nanogrid House with a focus on the thermal storage system. His advisor is Kevin Kircher.
  • Daniel Carne is a Ph.D student working with Xiulin Ruan.
  • Debraliz Isaac-Aragones is currently working under the guidance of Prof. Justin Weibel from the CTRC and Prof. David Warsinger from the Warsinger Water Lab.
  • Emily Barber is a graduate student whose research focuses on the effect of radiative cooling paints on local and global weather patterns. Her advisor is Xiulin Ruan.

Li-Fan Wu and You-Shu Zhan: 2024/2025 Richard C. Chu Memorial Scholarship

Richard C. Chu Memorial Scholarship is awarded to graduate students pursuing advanced studies in the school, with a preference for students that completed an undergraduate degree from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. 

Ziqi Guo and Daniel Carne: 2024/2025 Warren and Judy Stevenson Graduate Scholarship

The Warren and Judy Stevenson Graduate Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering encourages mechanical engineering graduate students to study and pursue research in areas related to applied optics.

  • Ziqi Guo is a PhD student currently focused on solving multiscale energy transport. He's advised by Xiulin Ruan.
  • Daniel Carne is a Ph.D student working with Xiulin Ruan.