Research Areas
The Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering is privileged to have a vibrant research program with research expenditures exceeding $7 million annually, supporting more than 120 graduate students with roughly equal numbers of Doctoral and Master of Science Students. Most graduate students are supported through graduate research assistantships. Students work on their Thesis and Dissertations on topics that contribute to the goals and objectives of research grants managed by their faculty advisors.
Most of the research performed in the department is interdisciplinary. Students working on a particular research area may choose one of several technical area courses of specialization for their academic program of study.
Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
Unsteady aerodynamics is used to investigate dynamic stall and active flow control methods to alter the development of unsteady phenomena as well as to identify the behavior of unstable aerodynamic bodies (such as projectiles) a
Novel boundary layer flow control methods are investigated, such as distributed dynamic roughness and plasma actuators.
Current fluid-structure-interaction (FSI) research is trying to identify the nature of porosity on the behavior of thin materials.
Additional research areas include low Reynolds number aerodynamics, fluid flow in microgravity environments, and externally transforming projectiles.
Several collaborative efforts are active between aerodynamics, unmanned aerial systems, and robotics.
Free flight experiments provide the ability to capture the time-dependent dynamics and aerodynamics of aerodynamic bodies. Often it is the understanding of the unsteady nature of the flow phenomena near the body that leads to better prediction of the dynamic behavior of the body or vehicle.
Students engaged in Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics research often choose specialization area A (Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics) for their plan of study.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
- Reedsville Proving Grounds
- Free-Flight Wind Tunnel
- Aerodynamics Lab
- High Performance Computing Cluster
Affiliated faculty:
Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions
The CAFEE works extensively on emission reduction research — particularly engine technologies, post-combustion technologies, after-treatment evaluation, and fuel technologies.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
Affiliated faculty:
- V'yacheslav Akkerman
- Omid Askari
- Nigel N. Clark
- Cosmin Dumitrescu
- Derek R. Johnson
- Hailin Li
- Andrew C. Nix
- Arvind Thiruvengadam
- Gregory Thompson
- Scott Wayne
Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical engineering research and degree programs are conducted jointly by the departments of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering (MMAE) and the WVU Health Sciences Center. Areas of research include orthodontics, hand and limbs protective equipment, respiratory and diseased tissue mechanics, orthopedic mechanics, bone growth and fracture, and the application of computer-aided design and microprocessor-based instrumentation to rehabilitation.
Since faculty in MAE working on Biomedical Engineering specialize in biomechanics, students tend to choose specialization area D (Solid Mechanics and Machine Design). However, students interact and have access to the portfolio of courses and resources in the whole interdisciplinary Biomedical Engineering program.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
Affiliated faculty:
Dynamics and Control
Active research in Dynamics and Controls includes system modeling and simulation, state and parameter estimation, flight control, robotics, artificial intelligence, fault tolerant system monitoring and control, embedded systems design, instrumentation, active control in automated machines, and computer-aided design.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
- UAV Applied Aerodynamics and Smart Systems Group
- Flight Control Systems Laboratory (FCSL)
- Flight Safety Group
- Precision Navigation Group
- Interactive Robotics Laboratory (IRL)
- Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
Affiliated faculty:
- Dimas Abreu Archanjo Dutra
- Jason Gross
- Yu Gu
- Piyush Mehta
- Marcello R. Napolitano
- Guilherme Pereira
- Mario Perhinschi
- Xi Yu
Materials Science and Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering (MS&E) research focuses on the study of metals, ceramics, glass, polymers, semiconductors, composites, nanomaterials, and biomaterials. The area of study is diverse and multidisciplinary, since it incorporates aspects of chemistry, physics, electronics, mechanics, biology, and medicine. Research in the Department primarily focuses on materials for energy generation, conversion, and storage; biomedical, emissions and smart sensors/devices; 3D printing and manufacturing; advanced coatings; modeling and fabrication of high-performance polymers and composites; and nanomaterials for energy, biomedical and smart devices.
Students working in this area often choose technical area E (Materials & Structures in MAE) or F (Materials Science and Engineering) for their plan of study.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
- Computational Materials Science Lab
- Energy Materials Research Group
- High Temperature Alloys and Composites
- Multi-functional and Energy Ceramics Group
- Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
- Thermoelectric materials
Affiliated faculty:
- Ever J. Barbero
- Yun Chen
- Bruce Kang
- Wenyuan Li
- Xingbo Liu
- David Mebane
- Terence Musho
- Loren Rieth
- Edward Sabolsky
- Konstantinos Sierros
- Xueyan Song
Robotics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Active research areas in Robotics and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) include robot systems design, field robotics, bio-inspired robotics, multi-agent systems, reinforcement learning, soft robotics, planetary rover navigation and autonomy, exploration of underground tunnels, robotic pollination, robotic mining, UAV/Micro Air Vehicle design, flight simulation and testing, biomimetic applications to UAV’s, experimental and computational fluid dynamics, guidable smart munitions, formation flight control, fault-tolerant flight control, air traffic management, and multi-vehicle cooperative perception, planning, and control.
Students working in this area often choose technical area C (Dynamics and Control) for their plan of study.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
- Research in communications theory explores new principles for higher performance or improved analysis of communications systems. Signal processing theory research explores new principles for understanding and manipulation of analog and digital signals. These theoretical foundations drive a wide range of applied research. Recent research in the field of co-operative communications between multiple users as been supported by the National Science Foundation.
- Research on technologies extends from basic devices through full testbed systems. Projects include photonics and high speed electronics for optical communications, advanced system packaging and interconnections for high performance communications and signal processing systems, parallel arrays of high performance DSPs for image processing, and other DSP-based functions for communications and intelligent sensors.
- Application research includes information systems which integrate computing and communications. Recent work on the distributed simulation of communication has been sponsored by the NSF.
- Robotics in Engineering
- WVU Robotics
- Unmanned Aerial Systems Research
- Field and Aerial Robotics (FARO) Laboratory
- Interactive Robotics Laboratory (IRL)
- Neuro-Mechanical Intelligence Laboratory
- WVU Navigation Lab
Affiliated faculty:
- Ali Baheri
- Patrick Browning
- Dimas Abreu Archanjo Dutra
- Jason Gross
- Yu Gu
- Wade W. Huebsch
- Piyush Mehta
- Marcello R. Napolitano
- Guilherme Pereira
- Mario Perhinschi
- Andrew Rhodes
- Konstantinos Sierros
- Nicholas Szorcinski
- Xi Yu
Solid Mechanics and Machine Design
The research area of Solid Mechanics and Machine Design (SMMD) encompasses the theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies of solid bodies, from the local deformations of deformable bodies to the static and dynamic response of complex structural systems.
SMMD faculty carry out basic and applied engineering research including mechanics of composite materials, damage mechanics, fracture mechanics, dynamic simulations and stability of heavy vehicles, structural dynamics, rotor-dynamics, metamaterials, multifunctional materials, computational particle mechanics and the characterization of thermo-mechanical behavior of materials and structures, both in the laboratory and in-field conditions.
Furthermore, the SMMD faculty conduct interdisciplinary research in cooperation with the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and Orthopedics at the School of Medicine.
Since faculty in MAE working on Solid Mechanics and Machine Design specialize in diverse areas such as biomechanics, solid mechanics, and machine design, students tend to choose specialization area D (Solid Mechanics and Machine Design). However, students interact and have access to the portfolio of courses and resources in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and the School of Medicine.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
Affiliated faculty:
- Ever J. Barbero
- Bruce Kang
- Victor H. Mucino
- Sam Mukdadi
- Nithi Sivaneri
- Eduardo Sosa
- Gregory Thompson
Space Flight and Systems
Space flight and systems is a multi-disciplinary research area focusing on spacecraft design, guidance, navigation and control, space robotics, planetary exploration, satellite navigation (e.g., GPS), radioisotope thermoelectric generation, in-space 3D printing, orbital mechanics, and trajectory optimization. WVU is home to the state-of-the-art West Virginia Robotic Technology Center, which is developing technologies that will enable a servicing spacecraft to grapple a client spacecraft for repair or refueling.
Students working in this area often choose technical area C (Dynamics and Control) for their plan of study.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
Affiliated faculty:
Thermal Sciences
The Department conducts applied and fundamental research in thermal sciences with applications to thermal systems. Our faculty leads theoretical, experimental, and computational research in combustion, fluid dynamics, plasma, laser diagnostics, power generation systems using conventional and alternative fuels, engine emissions, engine design, and other related topics.
Students working in this area often choose technical area B (Thermal Sciences) for their plan of study.
Affiliated labs and research groups:
Affiliated faculty: