Purdue student sends aerogel research to NASA's Glenn Research Center

Sevinch Pasilova, a junior studying mechanical engineering at Purdue in Indianapolis, conducted research on aerogels and had the opportunity to send her findings to NASA.
Sevinch Pasilova using the supercritical dryer to create an aerogel

Pasilova worked with Andres Tovar, an associate professor of mechanical engineering based in Indianapolis. In his Engineering Design Research Laboratory, his team conducts research in engineering systems, structures, and material design optimization algorithms.

“I had a class with Professor Tovar, and one day during his office hours he mentioned he was looking for students to do research on aerogels,” said Pasilova. “I thought that sounded so interesting.”

An aerogel is the world’s lightest material and is made up of mostly air. It is often used in applications such as drug delivery systems, environmental cleanup, and insulations. Companies like NASA often use it to trap space projectiles traveling at high speeds.

Pasilova’s research focused on creating a supercritical dryer (SCD) used to create an aerogel, as well as determining the effects of adding chitin to a potato starch-based aerogel. Her and her team started by evaluating different types of SCD’s and eventually built and tested their own.

After mixing samples with differing amounts of chitin and using the SCD to create the aerogel, Sevinch and team sent the samples to NASA’s Glenn Research Center for it to be tested. The results showed that adding chitin to aerogels improves mechanical strength and thermal stability and also provides better moisture resistance and antibacterial properties. It also revealed that the samples with increased chitin had reduced shrinkage and decreased bulk density.

This research was a part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, which enables undergraduates to conduct real-world research with a professor. She also came to West Lafayette in October to present her findings at the Women in ME Symposium.

“I think SURF was amazing because I had the chance to conduct research in Indianapolis,” said Pasilova.

Research isn’t the only thing taking up Pasilova’s time. She has a full schedule working as a TA at the Purdue Data Mine, leading the Allison Transmission vehicle clustering project, and being an academic success ambassador at Purdue’s Academic Success Center. She’s originally from Uzbekistan and attributes her hard work to her family’s support.

“My family definitely inspired me to go into engineering. Being from the beautiful country Uzbekistan, I came here all alone to pursue engineering at my dream school, Purdue,” she said. “My family has been my biggest motivation, and they always push me to do better.”

Aerogel (Photo Credit: NASA)

Currently, Pasilova is conducting research on cryogels and xerogels, which are created differently than aerogels are. She’s exploring the creation process of each gel, comparing the three methods, and identifying ways she can improve them.

She isn’t exactly sure what her plans are after graduation but she’s thinking about getting some industry experience before returning for graduate school. “I think doing research really allows you to put into perspective what you’re learning in class,” she said. “It’s a really great experience and I think everyone should try to do research at least once.”

 

Writer: Julia Davis, juliadavis@purdue.edu