People
Associated Faculty
Dr. Ryan Berke, Assistant Professor (MAE)
Director, Mechanics at Extreme Temperatures Laboratory, 2015-Present
Director, Thermohydraulics and Material Properties Center (TMP), 2017-Present
Dr. Berke’s research focus is in the mechanical characterization of solids and structures in chalenging environments, and at extreme temperatures in particular. His lab uses advanced optical methods to extract full-field, in-situ deformation measurements across various temperature, time, and length scales. He is especially interested in the role that environment plays on a material’s ability to withstand heterogeneous failure mechanisms such as fracture, fatigue, and creep.
Dr. Berke is also the faculty advisor for USU’s Student Chapter of the American Nuclear Society.
Phone: (435)797-8184
Email: ryan.berke@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 419P
Website: www.berkelab.com
Dr. Thomas Fronk, Associate Professor (MAE) and Associate Dean (ENGR)
Research Interests: Composite structures, numerical solutions, finite elements, vibrations.
Phone: (435) 797-0116
Email: Thomas.fronk@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 413B
Dr. Juhyeong Lee, Assistant Professor (MAE)
Research Interests: Material Science, Nuclear Energy and Materials, Numerical Methods, and Solid Mechanics
Phone: (435) 797-0287
Email: juhyeong.lee@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 419A
Dr. Nick Roberts, Assistant Professor (MAE)
Dr. Nick Roberts’ is focused on direct energy conversion and storage. He has a combined experimental and computational approach to studying electrical, optical and thermal properties of nanostructured materials for applications in thin film photovoltaics, thermoelectrics, hybrid thermoelectric photovoltaic systems and paraffin based phase change materials for thermal energy storage.
Phone: (435) 797-9455
Email: nick.roberts@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 419N
Website: http://ntel.go.usu.edu/
Dr. Barton Smith, Professor (MAE)
Expertise: Experimental fluid mechanics, validation benchmark experiments for CFD, particle image velocimetry uncertainty, flow control applied to materials processing.
Phone: (435) 797-3278
Email: barton.smith@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 419K
Dr. Som Dutta, Assistant Professor (MAE)
Som is originally from India, and after completing his graduate studies at University of Illinois (UIUC) in Civil Engineering; he did his post-doctoral training in Scientific Computing and Mathematics at UIUC and City University of New York (CUNY), respectively. Som is interested in studying complex flow and morphodynamics phenomena in the natural and the built environment, using high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The range of phenomena he is interested in varies from exploring the mechanism underlying drag reduction by shark denticles (skin), to dispersal of oil and contaminant in oceans and rivers.
Phone: 435-797-0583
Email: som.dutta@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 419R
Dr. Elizabeth Vargis, Assistant Professor (BE)
Dr. Vargis’ research interests lie under health physics, specifically to build better in vitro models to understand the effects of radiation on cardiac and skeletal muscle. Her research group has expertise in tissue engineering to develop realistic cell-based muscle systems and in spectroscopy to non-destructively monitor changes due to radiation. She works with collaborators in various disciplines, such as physics, biology, and chemistry. Future work will consider ways to prevent and treat negative effects of radiation exposure.
Phone: (435) 797-0618
Email: elizabeth.vargis@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 402M
Website: www.vargislab.com
Dr. Hailei Wang, Assistant Professor (MAE)
Dr. Hailei Wang has broad research interests in thermal fluid sciences with focus on advanced energy systems and technologies. His current research includes: developing distributed energy systems that effectively integrate waste heat and renewable energy; advancing a unique thermal energy storage concept, and designing high performance and multi-function microchannel heat exchangers for process intensification. His work has been funded by various agencies including DOE/APAR-E, DOD, Oregon BEST, ONAMI and large corporations.
Phone: (435) 797-2098
Email: hailei.wang@usu.edu
Office: ENGR 419E