At UDRI, Student Research is for the Real World
Stressed? Strained? Under pressure and about to break?
They may be normal conditions for an overworked college student, but unacceptable for an airplane wing.
So the former — Jon Engelsman — designed a way to monitor the latter by studying the electrical characteristics of carbon-fiber nanocomposites.
Engelsman had been doing reading — for fun — on smart materials. Why not apply the nanofibers he was using for the University of Dayton Research Institute in a strip on the wing? Connect alligator clips to each end, run electricity through it and measure the resistivity of the material — more stress equals greater resistance.
The project was for a student wing design contest, but this and other work with UDRI was Engelsman's launching pad to real airplanes. The junior electrical and mechanical engineering major, one of many undergraduates engaged in research at UD, is now using both disciplines to model airplane generators for the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
"If I had the time and money, I'd like to major in most everything — except for the homework," said Engelsman, who is carrying a 20-hour course load to finish both majors in four and a half years.
He also learned some chemical engineering by working in the polymer nanocomposites and composites group of UDRI as part of the inaugural class of engineering freshmen placed in research internships. As an assistant in a laboratory in the basement annex of Kettering Labs, he would take containers of powdery black carbon nanofibers, mix them with a polymer and pour it into a mold to create a composite.
The nanofibers change the properties of ordinary materials, creating plastics with the strength of steel or that can dissipate heat. Engelsman created the composites for researcher Nick Gagliardi ’03. Results from tests run on the composites were added to UDRI's warehouse of data, which it pulls from when creating products for clients.
Exposing students to research early in their college career is essential in preparing the next generation of researchers. Malcolm Daniels, chair of the electrical and computer engineering department, said few young engineers start out considering professions beyond industry or public works.
The problem is, students see research as busywork — something they were instructed to do in high school on most any subject — or as something that's done in faraway labs by a few brilliant scientists. "The interesting thing about UDRI is that it said to Jon from the word go, research is not something that comes later, research is something that starts now," Daniels said.
Engelsman's wing project was an outgrowth of a UDRI smart materials program. In another project, he and Gagliardi coated a model bridge with a nanofiber composite material that conducted electricity. In the real world, that conductivity could help melt an icy road, Engelsman said.
"We had the nanofibers, we knew the electrical and thermo properties, and we slapped it on the bridge and hoped for the best," said Engelsman, who topped the bridge with a few Matchbox cars for fun. "We tested it afterwards and it worked really well.
"It was one of the first projects I worked on here. You work on stuff and you know about the applications, then you can see it in use."
Daniels identified Engelsman early on as academically able and intellectually curious, necessary traits for a researcher. He recommended the student for the UDRI position, and then for the base job last summer, where the two are continuing to work together during the school year in preparation for more research this coming summer. As the airplane generator modeling progresses, Daniels is seeing Engelsman temper his curiosity with professional reality.
"He's learning to continually question what he is doing," Daniels said, "questioning your own answers, criticizing your own work. And just because you got an answer doesn’t mean it's the right one."
Other lessons that come with research are persistence, willingness to accept a challenge, confidence to produce an answer and the ability to squeeze every last minute out of your day, Daniels said.
Researchers also have to be self-directed, another trait compatible with Engelsman, who has always opened books to answer questions. It is great fun to be able to take that knowledge and create a tangible result, he said.
"You need to find a good balance between reading about things and learning about things and actually doing things," Engelsman said.
Later this semester, Engelsman's research will again take form, as the computer models he and Daniels helped create will be tested against the performance of actual generators. While base technicians will run the tests, Engelsman will be there to watch and assist — another important part of his research education, Daniels said. "The research community is collaborative nationally and internationally," Daniels said. "We got the test data from the West Coast, given to us by people from this lab, and we're creating a model that the technicians will verify. Students learn research is not confined to your lab, your little workspace."
It's also not confined to one major, one topic or one project, making research the perfect fit for Engelsman's infinite interests.
by Michelle Tedford
March 24, 2006
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