Andrea's Profile

Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering (click here for the Department webpage)
Agricultural and Biological Engineering (click here for the Department webpage)

Email Andrea
Phone: 1 (765) 430-0081

Short Biography:

In 1999 Andrea Vacca earned his Master's degree - with honors - in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Parma (Italy) and in 2005 his doctorate in Energy Systems from the University of Florence (Italy). For both degrees he presented theses in the field of Heat Transfer and Gas Turbine Blade Cooling Technology. Before joining Purdue University, Prof. Vacca was Assistant Professor in Fluid Machinery at the University of Parma (Italy).

Prior to his arrival to Purdue, Prof. Vacca participated in various research activities related to the fields of internal combustion engines, food technology and hydraulic systems.

Fluid power technology has been Prof. Vacca's major research interest since 2002. Particular goals of his research are the improvement of energy efficiency and controllability of fluid power systems and the reduction of noise emissions of fluid power components.

To accomplish the goals of his research, Prof. Vacca's research team has developed original numerical techniques to simulate fluid power systems and components, with particular reference to gear machines and hydraulic control valves.

Prof. Vacca is author of more than 70 papers, most of them published in international journal or conference.

Prof. Vacca is also active in the fluid power research community. He is faculty member of the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), and he is currently chair of the SAE Fluid Power division. Andrea Vacca is also Treasurer and Secretary of the Board of the Fluid Power Net International (FPNI). He is also executive member of the Fluid Power Systems and Technology Division of ASME. Andrea Vacca is also Associate Editor of the International Journal of Fluid Power.

Gabriele Altare
Post Doc

Email Gabriele; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS, MS, PhD: Politecnico of Turin, Italy.
Origin: Italy
January 2013-present

Research Topics: Design/Optimization of innovative sliding bearing block design for external gear machines.

Addison Alexander
Ph.D. Student (direct Ph.D.)

Email Addison;
phone: (765) 448-1945
BS: University of Kentucky
Origin: Kentucky, USA
August 2013-present

Research Topics: Active vibration damping of mobile hydraulic machines.

Pulkit Agarwal
Master's Student

Email Pulkit; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS: Bits-Pilani, India
Origin: India
January 2013-present

Research Topics: Modeling and simulations of radial piston pumps and motors.

Divya Thiagarajan
Master's Student

Email Divya; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS: Anna University, India
Origin: India
October 2012-present

Research Topics: Developing new design solutions for external gear machines.

Guido Francesco Ritelli
Ph.D. Student

Email Guido; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS, MS: Politecnico di Torino, Italy.
Origin: Italy
February 2012-present

Research Topics: Development of an adaptive, real-time and non-model based control strategy in mobile hydraulic machinery for oscillation dampening and energy saving. Counterbalance and directional valves modeling.

Ram Sudarsan Devendran
Ph.D. Student

Email Ram; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS: BITS Pilani, India; MS: Purdue University
Origin: India
September 2010-present

Research Topics: Formulation of design principles for variable displacement external gear machines; Proposal of innovative design methodology for external gear machines.

Timothy Opperwall
Ph.D. Student

Email Tim; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS: Calvin College, USA; MS: Purdue University
Origin: Michigan, USA
August 2010-present

Research Topics: Development of a noise emission model for external gear machine; Optimization of the external gear machines design for noise emission reduction.

Sujan Dhar
Ph.D. Student

Email Sujan; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS: BITS Pilani, India; MS: SUNY at Buffalo, USA
Origin: India
August 2010-present

Research Topic: CFD simulation of flow in lubricating gaps of external gear machines; Study the effect of the flow in lubricating gaps on the performance and efficiency of the gear machines.

Davide Cristofori
Ph.D. Student

Email Davide; phone: (765) 448-1945
BS, MS: University of Parma
Origin: Italy
March 2010-present

Research Topic: Oscillation damping in valve controlled hydraulic machines through adaptive control strategies; Proportional valves modeling.

Anthony Franklin
Lab Manager

Phone: (765) 448-1587
Origin: Kokomo, IN
November 2008-present

Susan Gauger
Secretary / Assistant

Phone: (765) 448-1587
June 2011-present

Connie McMindes
Inventory Control Clerk

Phone: (765) 448-1587
Origin: Lafayette, IN
October 2012-present

Jose Edgar Gomez Gomez
Undergraduate Researcher

Phone: (765) 448-1456
Origin: Queretaro, Mexico
May 2013-present

Mohammad Mehdi Alemi
BS: University of Tehran
Origin: Iran
Jan 2011-Dec 2011

Jonathan Baker
Master's Graduate
BS: Davidson College
MS: Purdue University
PhD: MIT
Origin: USA
June 2006-July 2009

Jim Bartlett
BS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
July 2008-May 2009

Hans Berg
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Blake Carl
Origin: USA

Gang Chen
Origin: China

Sven Kelana Christiansen
Origin: Germany

Michael Cross
Master's Graduate
BS: Univeristy of Tennessee at Knoxville
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
April 2009-May 2011

Shekar Degaonkar
Master's Graduate
BS: Dr. BA Marathwada University, India
Origin: India
July 2006-June 2009

Abhijit Dingare
BS: College of Engineering, Pune, India
MS: The Ohio State University
Origin: India
June 2010-December 2010

Sebastian Eggers
Origin: Germany

Andrew Fredrickson
Master's Graduate
BS: Taylor University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
July 2006-July 2008

Reece Garrett
Master's Graduate
BS: Brigham Young University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
June 2007-May 2009

Joerg Grabbel
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Anderson St. Hilaire
Origin: Dominicas

Edward Hughes
BS: Purdue University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
July 2007-April 2009

Roman Ivantysyn
Master's Graduate
BS: Purdue University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: Germany
May 2009-July 2011

Dongjune Kim
Master's Graduate
BS: Yokohama National University, Japan
MS: Purdue University
Origin: South Korea
May 2011-August 2012

Richard Klop
PhD Graduate
BS: Michigan State
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
August 2005-Feb 2011

Alexander Krauss
Origin: Germany

Matt Kronlage
Master's Graduate
BS: Iowa State
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
July 2009-July 2011

Rajneesh Kumar
PhD Graduate
BS: Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
MS: Purdue University
Origin: India
July 2006-Oct 2010

Rohit Kumar
Master's Graduate
BS: Birla Institute of Technology, India
Origin: India
August 2007-Oct 2009

Rolf Lasaar
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Dat Le
July 2010-July 2011

Shinok Lee
Master's Graduate
BS: Purdue University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: South Korea
July 2008-Aug 2010

Dusan Mikeska
Origin: Slovakia

Jacob Mcleod
BS: Kettering University
Origin: Michigan, USA
August 2009-May 2010

Lars Olems
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Michael Oppermann
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Jean-Claude Ossyra
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Matteo Pelosi
PhD Graduate
BS, MS: Università Degli Studi di Parma
Origin: Italy
Sep 2007- Mar 2012

Jeff Peters
Master's Graduate
BS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
July 2006-August 2008

Leonardo Pinhel-Soarez

Robert Rahmfeld
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Jess Rose
Master's Graduate
BS: Brigham Young University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: Washington, USA
August 2009-June 2011

Ganesh Seeniraj
PhD Graduate
BS: College of Engineering, Guindy, Anna University, Chennai, India
MS: Kettering University
Origin: India
PhD: August 2004-March 2009
Postdoc: August 2009-April 2011

Brent Warr
Master's Graduate
BS: Brigham Young University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: Utah, USA
August 2009-May 2011

Chris Williamson
PhD Graduate
BS: Brigham Young University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
August 2005-Sept 2010

Uwe Wieczorek
PhD Graduate
Origin: Germany

Kyle Williams
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
May 2005-August 2009

Elmar Wulf
Origin: Germany

Minming Zhao
Master's Graduate
BS: Shanghai Jiaotong University
Origin: China
August 2010-June 2012

Josh Zimmerman
PhD Graduate
BS: Brigham Young University
MS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
August 2006-May 2012

Jose Navarro
Origin: Spain

Robert Behr
Origin: Germany

Jiang Dan
Origin: China

Daniel Dyminski
Master's Graduate
Cracow Academy of Technology
Origin: Poland
September 2005-December 2008

Federica Franzoni
Visiting Researcher
BS: University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Origin: Italy
June 2009-Dec 2009

Germano Franzoni
Origin: Italy

Daniel Grönberg
Visiting Researcher
Origin: Sweden
Jan 2011-June 2011

Changchun "Max" Huang
Origin: China

Takayoshi Ichiyanagi
Assistant Professor
National Defense Academy of Japan
Origin: Japan
July 2007-September 2008

Andreas Japing
Origin: Germany

Najoua Jouini
Visiting Researcher
BS, MS: Stuttgart University
Origin: Tunisia
Sep 2006-Feb 2007
Sep 2007-Aug 2008
May 2009-Aug 2012

Donatien Keho
Master's Graduate
MS: Toulouse
Origin: France
Feburary 2008-September 2008

Petr Konarik
Origin: Czech Republic

Philipp Koppold
Visiting Researcher
Origin: Germany
Feb 2010-Nov 2010

Jonathan Liscouet
Origin: France

Amin Mehdizadeh
Visiting Researcher
BS,MS: Shiraz University
MS: The Royal Insititute of Technology, Sweden
Origin: Iran
Dec. 2011-Aug. 2013

Dheeraj Saxena
Origin: India

Jan H. Schmidt
Visiting Researcher
Diplom: TU Clausthal
Origin: Germany
August 2012-October 2012

Lizhi Shang
Visiting Researcher
BS: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
MS: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Origin: China
July 2012-Aug 2012

Wei Shen
Visiting Researcher
BS: Northeast Foresty University
MS: Yan Shan University
PhD: Harbin Institude of Technology
Origin: China
Feb 2012-Mar 2013

Patrik Stegemann
Origin: Germany

Marcel Tkocz
Master's Student
BS: Technical University Dresden
Origin: Germany
August 2008-May 2009

Toyohito Uchizono
Visiting Researcher
Origin: Japan
Jan 2010-July 2011

Andrea Vacca
Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering
Università Degli Studi di Parma
Origin: Italy
June 2008-October 2008

Marco Zecchi
Visiting Researcher
MS: Università Degli Studi di Parma
Origin: Italy
March 2009-Nov 2009

Junwei Zhang
Visiting Researcher
BS: Beijing Institute of Technology
Origin: China
Nov 2011-Nov 2012

Hui Zhao
Visiting Researcher
BS-Ph.D: Harbin Institute of Technology
Origin: China
Sept 2009-Sept 2010

Minming Zhao
Visiting Researcher

Origin: China
Dec 2009-April 2010

Fabian Zimber
Visiting Researcher
BS: University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Origin: Germany
May 2012-Aug 2012

Jordyn Miller
SURF 2013 Student
Origin: USA
May 2013-Aug 2013

Yangqiao Zheng
SURF 2013 Student
Origin: China
May 2013-Aug 2013

Chuang (Chris) Wang
Undergraduate Researcher

BS: Purdue University
Sep 2012-Dec 2012

Jennifer Wu
Undergraduate Researcher

BS: Purdue University
Sep 2012-Dec 2012

Tridib Saha
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
SROP Summer 2012

Cary Wood
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
SURF Summer 2012

Bruce Vonniederhausern
Undergraduate

BS: Utah State University
SURF Summer 2012

Cory Raizor
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
SURF Summer 2012

Chuang (Chris) Wang
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
SURF Summer 2012

Kilian Cooley
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
SURF Summer 2011

Cheng Lu
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
SURF Summer 2011

Jennifer Wu
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
SURF Summer 2011

Enrique Busquets
Undergraduate

BS: The University of Texas at El Paso
Origin: Torreon, Mexico
SURF Summer 2010

James Hancock
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: Illinois, USA
SURF Summer 2010

Ben Walke
Undergraduate
Email Ben
BS: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Origin: Pennsylvania, USA
SURF Summer 2010

Andreu Husien
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: Jakarta, Indonesia
SURF Summer 2009

Paul Kalbfleisch
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: Kentucky, USA
SURF Summer 2009

Jamie Scott
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: Indiana, USA
SURF Summer 2009

Nathan Strong
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: Tennessee, USA
SURF Summer 2009

Nicholas Browdues
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
SURF Summer 2008

Michael Cross
Undergraduate

BS: Univeristy of Tennessee at Knoxville
Origin: USA
SURF Summer 2008

William Hinson
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
SURF Summer 2008

Roman Ivantysyn
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: Germany
Summer 2008

Katie Livergood
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue Unversity
Origin: USA
Summer 2008

Laura Rodriguez
Undergraduate

BS: Instituto Tecnologico de Ciudad Juarez
Origin: Mexico
SURF Summer 2008

Ivan Swandono
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: Indonesia
SURF Summer 2008

Sihle Wilson
Undergraduate

BS: Florida A&M University
Origin: Trinidad and Tabago
SURF Summer 2008

Neil Dantam
Undergraduate

BS: Purdue University
Origin: USA
SURF Summer 2007

José Rivera
Undergraduate

BS: University of Puerto Rico at Maya Güez
Origin: Puerto Rico
SURF Summer 2007

Elvis Ulloa
Undergraduate

BS: University of Puerto Rico at Maya Güez
Origin: Puerto Rico
SURF Summer 2007

Donnell Cunningham
Undergraduate
Origin: USA
SURF Summer 2006

Edat Kaya
Maha Lab Manager
Dipl.-Eng.: Hamburg University of Applied Science
Origin: Germany
August 2005-May 2011

Francis Grover
Visiting High School Student
Jefferson High School, Lafayette, IN
Origin: Lafayette, IN
September 2009-March 2010