Summer Research Mentorship Program

Graham Candler

Laminar-turbulent boundary layer transition can increase the heat flux and drag on hypersonic vehicles by up to a factor of 10. Transition models based on RANS offer low-cost predictions to non-expert users, but are often inaccurate for high-speed flows. The task is to run existing RANS transition models in FD and compare results against experiments and high fidelity simulation data from literature. The student will learn to use the US3D finite volume CFD code, the Tecplot data visualization software, and perform some limited programming in Fortran.

Ryan Caverly

Project 1: Solar Sail Momentum Management Using Predictive Control and Convex Optimization

Solar sails are spacecraft that use photons from the Sun as a means of fuel-free propulsion. Solar sails typically use non-tradiational momentum management actuators, such as an active mass translator (AMT) and reflectivity control devices, which require novel control algorithms. In collaboration with NASA researchers, this project will involve developing and programming algorithms using predictive control and convex optimization. Students will use Matlab and Simulink to program and test these algorithms, directly contributing to the success of upcoming solar sail missions.

Project 2: Design of a Low-Earth Orbit MembraneSat Solar Sail for the Earth Cup

The University of Minnesota is competing in the Earth Cup that involves designing a low-cost solar sail for low-Earth orbit deployment with the goal of maximizing its orbital lifetime using solar radiation pressure. The solar sail must meet the MembraneSat standard (a lightweight, flat satellite architecture) and meet Earth Cup competition requirements. Students will contribute to mission planning, hardware fabrication, and flight software design, culminating in hardware testing and validation for the competition.

Project 3: Design of a Cable-Driven Robot for Large-Scale Spacecraft Motion Simulation

Performing realistic ground testing of spacecraft proximity operations in the vicinity of another spacecraft is challenging and is typically either costly or limited in the motion that can be tested. The Aerospace, Robotics, Dynamics, and Control (ARDC) Lab is collaborating with Cornell University on the design of a low-cost cable-driven robot that can simulate full-scale spacecraft proximity operations. Students working on this project will assist with the hardware, software, and electrical design of this robotic platform, as well as testing on a small-scale prototype.

Project 4: Prototype Design and Testing of the CABLESSail System for Solar Sail Momentum Management

Solar sails are spacecraft that use photons from the Sun as a means of fuel-free propulsion. Existing solar sail momentum actuators have significant limitations, which necessitates the development of novel actuator technology.  The Aerospace, Robotics, Dynamics, and Control (ARDC) Lab is collaborating with NASA on the development of the Cable-Actuated Bio-inspired Lightweight Elastic Solar Sail (CABLESSail) concept that uses cables routed throughout the structure of the solar sail to purposefully deform the sail and create momentum management torques. This project will involve fabricating and testing deployable CABLESSail prototypes that will play a large role in raising this technology from concept to hardware reality (raising the technology readiness level).

Anabel del Val

Project 1: Sensitivity analysis of Mars 2020 hypersonic flight data for model error calibration.
Designing high-mass landers for future Mars missions is a complex task. One of the most pressing challenges is the inability to test the full system under real flight conditions. This project will look at identifying the relevant sources of uncertainty impacting the prediction of Mars aerothermodynamic environments. The results will help inform a Bayesian design of experiments strategy for rigorous margin policies at NASA.

Project 2: Transport maps-enhanced Karhunen-Loève expansions for efficient hypersonic flow surrogate modeling.
Building surrogate models for hypersonic flows is challenging due to the presence of highly non-linear flowfield features. In a UQ context, these features induce complex probability distributions for quantities of interest. Transport maps are a technique used to link complex probability distributions to canonical distributions. Using transport maps, we can convert the complex distributions that appear in hypersonic flowfields into canonical Gaussian distributions that are amenable to approximation with classical surrogate modeling approaches such as Karhunen-Loève expansions. We will develop and apply the technique to a relevant problem in hypersonics.

Project 3: Stochastic simulations of shock tunnel experimental data.
Shock tunnels are experimental facilities used to study hypersonic flows. In many cases, these facilities produce unsteady freestream conditions in the testing chamber. We will study the impact of this unsteadiness on the simulated experimental data considering uncertainties in the models.

Demoz Gebre-Egziabher

Project 1: UMN Small Satellite Laboratory

The intern in the UMN Small Satellite Laboratory will work on projects related to developing hardware and software for small satellite payloads. This includes, but is not limited to, performing testing of sensors to be used in space borne experiments and satellite missions; helping build a CubeSat for solar observation; and developing and testing payloads for flight on high altitude balloons to make solar observations.  

Project 2: UAV Laboratory

Help conduct flight tests using fixed wing and quadcopter platforms to collect sensor data. The sensor data will be used to develop advanced aerospace navigation algorithms in GPS denied environments and to improve the accuracy of multi-sensor navigation algorithms.  

Melissa Green

Project 1: A wind tunnel experiment to set up pressure measurements on a wing model or similar.

Project 2: Using virtual reality to visualize 3D fluid mechanics data.

Project 3: Water channel experiments that will use PIV to measure velocity vector fields around pitching and heaving plates and wings.

Damennick Henry

The student will investigate orbit design in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). In particular, the student will perform a preliminary investigation into methods for designing thrust-enabled periodic orbits around Earth when atmospheric drag is a significant perturbation acting on a spacecraft. The study will establish feasible time-scales for maintaining a spacecraft in VLEO orbit.

Richard James

Experimental study of scaling laws involving interacting fluids, elastic solids and rigid bodies.

Suraj Ravindran

This project focuses on characterizing Army-relevant materials under microparticle impact loading using laser-induced particle impact experiments. These experiments probe material response at ultra-high strain rates and elevated temperatures. The student will gain hands-on experience conducting LIPIT experiments and performing nanoindentation to quantify the rate-dependent response of Cu–Ta materials.

Tom Schwartzentruber

Particle simulations of free-molecular flow using advanced gas-surface scattering models with application to satellites in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). Predicting lift, drag, and moments of various satellite geometries under rarefied atmospheric conditions for operation in VLEO. A small amount of computer programming will be required.

Kirsten Strandjord

Kshitiz Upadhyay

Project 1: Mechanics of the brain

In this project, the student will investigate the mechanical behavior of brain tissue using experiments combined with inverse finite-element modeling. The goal is to better understand how brain tissue responds to mechanical loading conditions associated with injuries such as concussions and other traumatic brain injuries. Insights from this work can ultimately inform the design of improved personal protective equipment and injury-mitigation strategies.

In addition to conducting hands-on research, the student will receive training in: (i) Mechanical testing of soft biological tissues, (ii) Digital Image Correlation (DIC) for full-field strain measurement, (iii) Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and inverse modeling techniques, and (iv) Scientific data analysis and research communication.

Project 2: Effect of cryopreservation on connective tissue mechanics

In this project, the student will study how freezing and storage conditions influence the mechanical properties of connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments. These tissues are frequently cryopreserved for surgical grafting and biomechanical testing, yet freezing can alter their elasticity, strength, and failure behavior. This research aims to improve scientific understanding of these effects, with potential impact on clinical graft preparation, tissue preservation protocols, and biomechanical reliability.

As part of this project, the student will gain experience in: (i) Mechanical characterization of biological tissues, (ii) Cryopreservation techniques and tissue handling, (iii) Basic histology and microstructural analysis, (iv) Digital Image Correlation (DIC) for strain measurement, and (v) Constitutive model calibration.

Yue Yu

The research in my group focuses on developing algorithms and software for teams of robots, including aerial and ground robots. As a summer intern, you will primarily work on coding and hardware development, including implementing control and planning algorithms with optimization tools in simulation, testing them on real robotic platforms, and supporting experimental demonstrations.