Research Scholars

Eric Loth
Prof. Eric Loth serves as the Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Professor of Engineering. Loth’s current research focuses on extreme-scale wind turbines, energy-storage systems, multiphase flow, and aerospace propulsion.
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Meghan Kaminski
University of Virginia, Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2016-2020)
Penn State, B.S. in Aerospace Engineering (2012-2016)
Meghan's research is gravo-aeroelastically scaling wind turbine blade for sub-scale testing of highly flexible rotor blades.
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Mary Asare-Addo
University of Flensburg Ph.D. in Energy Systems and Environmental Management (2024)
University of Bonn, & United Nations University-EHS M.S. in Geography of Environmental Risks and Human Security (2017)
University of Ghana B.A. in Geography and Resource Development (2013)
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Edem Tetteh
University of Virginia, Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2020)
University of Virginia, B.S. in Aerospace Engineering (2015)
Edem completed his Ph.D. in mechanical & aerospace engineering working on a project funded by Rolls-Royce North America Inc., and under the mentorship of Dr. Eric Loth. His research focused on aerospace icing and icephobic surfaces, and aimed at studying icing physics (impact/aerospace ice and static ice), ranging from accretion on small samples and icephobic coatings to adhesion measurement. He is now involved in various projects with a focus on fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, aerodynamics, and controls.
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Michael Jeong
University of Virginia, PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2020-present)
University of Virginia, BS in Mechanical Engineering (2020)
Michael is currently a member of the Segmented Outboard Articulating Rotor (SOAR) project working on models to estimate blade pitch rate and acceleration limits for extreme scale wind turbines. He is also currently working aerodynamic blade and flap design for extreme scale wind turbines. His other research interests include wind turbine farm optimization through machine learning.
Graduate Researchers
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Kevin Fletcher
Kevin's research includes computational and experimental modeling of Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (FOWTs) and assessment of mountain-based wind energy in Virginia.
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Darryl Jennings Jr.
University of Virginia, PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2021-present)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach), MS in Mechanical Engineering (2016)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach), BS in Aerospace Engineering (2014)
Darryl is currently researching micro-scale cooling solutions for power electronics. His work includes microchannel modeling, nanostructure modeling, slip flow modeling, and CFD analysis. He is also studying the effects of slip inducing nanostructures and microchannel shape optimization.
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Cesar Rodriguez
University of Virginia, PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2021-present)
Universidad San Francisco de Quito, BS in Mechanical Engineering (2019)
Cesar is a detail-oriented Mechanical Engineer with 2+ years of experience in the automotive brake manufacturing industry and is currently working on the Inertial Particle Separator project at FRIL, where he is researching improvements on particle separation efficiency for jet engine inlets.
Undergraduate Researchers
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Nora Wilkerson
I am a 3rd year Aerospace Engineering student. I am a new Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Fluids Research and Innovation Laboratory (FRIL). So far, I have researched the mathematical relationships involved in duplicating the flow regime of a real-life river using the water channel; I have analyzed Free Surface Effects using a Passive Turbulence Grid and further conducted in-depth video analysis on the Free Surface. I am also involved in processing calculations and analyzing data resulting from using a Hotwire Probe at various open-channel flow speeds.