Student Highlight: Peter Yip

If you had asked Peter Yip about his plans after completing his undergraduate degree, graduate school might not have been his answer. Now, as a PhD candidate in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Minnesota, Peter is gearing up for his final defense.

“I think what’s funny is, if you were to tell me 10 years ago, ‘Peter, you’re going to do grad school,’ I probably would have laughed,” Yip reflected. “It wasn’t until I became a research engineer that I realized I actually really enjoy the research process.”

Yip’s decision to pursue graduate school was driven by the opportunity to conduct research at the highest level. Initially, he had spent much of his life intending to pursue medicine, but his interest in engineering was sparked by exposure to advanced physics in high school.

Combined with an admiration for the engineering mindset, Yip decided to carve out a different path.

“I love the idea of not necessarily needing to bolster problem-solving with just rote memorization,” Yip said. “If you have good physical intuition, you can actually solve problems better.”

He attended the University of Central Florida, where he applied his passion for math and physics to problem-solving as an undergraduate in the mechanical engineering department. After graduation, Yip began working as a mechanical packaging engineer but quickly realized the role didn’t align with his interests.

He decided to pursue a Master of Science in mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, where he developed an interest in elastodynamics — the study of how solid materials deform, vibrate, and transmit waves over time when subjected to forces, before returning to their original shape.

Yip began studying how solid particles impact materials and how damage evolves, with a particular focus on high-speed flight vehicles. He also took on a role as a research engineer at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Laboratories, where he gained exposure to forward-looking research and a wide range of projects.

One of the most transformative experiences came through his participation in a program focused on hypersonic flight.

“I was interested, but I didn’t know anything about hypersonic flight,” Yip recalled. “I ended up asking around at the company, and a mentor of mine told me about an area that combines the solid mechanics I was interested in with fluid dynamics and the aerospace side of things. I remember thinking it sounded super complex and difficult, which made it a challenge I wanted to tackle.”

This newfound interest led Yip to pursue his PhD in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Minnesota, a leader in hypersonics research.

His work centers on high-speed particle impacts on hypersonic vehicles, with the main focus on how materials behave when struck at extremely high pressures and velocities. The research has important implications for the future of space travel.

“There’s still a question of how well current hypersonic systems can fly through adverse weather conditions,” Yip said. “If you’re flying at such high speeds, how do you make sure the vehicle can survive things like dust storms on Mars or even rain here on Earth?”

Yip uses both computational and experimental techniques to study how materials behave under these extreme conditions. His research aims to uncover how engineers can design space vehicles capable of withstanding such forces and has already led to some surprising findings.

“If you think about a ball hitting a wall at a really high speed, you would expect the stress to be concentrated right at the point of contact. A compressible fluid, whose density changes significantly in response to pressure or temperature variations, would hit the wall and spread out,” Yip explained. “What we’ve found is that solids hit and push straight in, while liquids hit, spread out, and create powerful pressure around the edges, sometimes making them even more damaging.”

It may sound challenging, and that’s because it is. One of the most difficult aspects of the research is the level of detail required for both computational and experimental work.

“When I’m using computational techniques, I need to understand the underlying tools, what they’re doing, and sometimes even develop new ones,” Yip said. “At the same time, my experiments require a high level of detail. Balancing both and communicating that work in a way that isn’t oversimplified can be tough.”

Looking ahead, Yip plans to continue his work at the Advanced Technology Laboratories and expand his research in computational and applied mechanics, building a team and collaborating with experts from the University of Minnesota.

Although the weather may not be as sunny as his home state of Florida, Yip reflects positively on his time in the department.

“It’s been a difficult journey, to say the least, but would I do it again? Absolutely.”