Dr. Eric Petersen
Turbomachinery Laboratory Director | Nelson-Jackson Professor
Areas of Study
- Gas turbine combustion
- Gas dynamics and propulsion
- Chemical kinetics
- Rocket propellants
- Optical diagnostics and spectroscopy
Dr. Eric Petersen is the Director of the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M University. Petersen has been with the Turbo Lab for 10-plus years and is the Nelson-Jackson Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
His research encompasses gas dynamics, propulsion, combustion, shock waves, chemical kinetics, optical diagnostics and spectroscopy, laminar and turbulent flames, and rocket combustion. He has authored more than 400 journal and conference papers in these areas. He is vice-president of the Institute for Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems (IDERS) and an associate editor of the Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power and the Journal of Propulsion and Power. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), The Combustion Institute and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
Petersen holds three degrees in mechanical engineering: a bachelor’s from the University of Central Florida (1988), a master’s from the University of Florida (1990) and a doctorate from Stanford University (1998). Before coming to Texas A&M, Petersen taught at the University of Central Florida. Prior to becoming a professor, he was an analytical engineer in the combustion group at Pratt & Whitney for three years, and a research scientist in the propulsion science group at the Aerospace Corporation for four years.
(979) 845-1257
epetersen@tamu.edu
Dr. Douglas Allaire
Assistant Professor
Areas of Study
- Machine learning
- Artificial Intelligence
- Optimization
- Uncertainty quantification
Dr. Douglas Allaire holds SB, SM, and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. His current research focuses on the development of computational methods for the analysis, design, and operation of complex systems. He is specifically interested in aspects of uncertainty quantification, multidisciplinary design optimization, and compositional methods for simulation-based design. He is currently working on projects involving the development of computational methods for enabling self-aware unmanned aerial vehicles, the development of optimal algorithms for multi-information source management in design, and the development of methods for enabling correct-by-construction model-based design processes.
(979) 458-9889
dallaire@tamu.edu
Dr. Dara Childs
Emeritus Professor, Retired
Areas of Study
- Rotordynamics
- Reliability
Dr. Dara W. Childs, P.E. was Director of the Turbomachinery Laboratory from 1984 to 2018 and held the Leland T. Jordan Chair in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees (Civil Engineering, 1961, 1962) from Oklahoma State University, and his Ph.D. (Engineering Mechanics, 1968) from the University of Texas. He was named ASME Fellow Member in 1990 and received ASMEs Henry R. Worthington Medal in 1991. Dr. Childs’ expertise is in dynamics and vibrations, with an emphasis in rotordynamics. He has conducted research and engineering projects for NASA, DOD, and private firms. Current research includes high-pressure testing honeycomb and hole-pattern gas damper seals; testing high-pressure laminar oil seals; force measurements in magnetic bearings using fiber-optic strain gauges. Dr. Childs has authored numerous reviewed publications related to rotordynamics and vibrations, and the book, Turbomachinery Rotordynamics. He is presently completing a new dynamics book entitled, Dynamics in Engineering Practice.
Dr. Paul Cizmas
Professor
Areas of Study
- Computational Fluid Mechanics
- Internal flows of turbomachines
- Reacting flows
Dr. Paul Cizmas is a professor of aerospace engineering. Before joining Texas A&M, he worked for Westinghouse Science and Technology Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. While at Westinghouse, Cizmas was responsible for the development of computational fluid dynamic analysis for turbomachinery. His work concentrated on unsteady flows in turbomachinery using both time-linearization and time-marching methods. Cizmas carried this on at Texas A&M, and developed the CoRSI code for simulation of in situ reheat in turbines and analysis of turbine-combustors, the UNS3D general computational fluid dynamics code, the UNS3D-AE code for high-fidelity aerolastic analysis, and the UNS3D-POD proper orthogonal decomposition-based reduced-order model for turbomachinery flows.
(979) 845-5952
cizmas@tamu.edu
Dr. Adolfo Delgado
Associate Professor
Areas of Study
- Rotordynamics and seals
- Bearings
- Mechanical seals, ESPs
Dr. Adolfo Delgado is an associate professor of mechanical engineering. His research focuses on rotordynamics, structural vibration, energy dissipation mechanisms, thin film lubrication and fluid-structure interaction applied to the design, modeling and improvement of rotating machinery systems and components. Prior to joining Texas A&M, Delgado was a research engineer at the General Electric Global Research Center where he led and worked on multiple initiatives involving improvement of existing rotating equipment and development of new rotor-bearing system architectures and turbomachinery components, such as variable geometry bearings, annular seals, dampers and oil-free bearings.
(979) 458-3132
adelgado@tamu.edu
Dr. Je-Chin Han
Distinguished Professor and Marcus Easterling Endowed Chair
Areas of Study
- Heat transfer
- Turbine blade cooling
- Experimental heat transfer
Dr. Je-Chin Han is a Distinguished Professor and Marcus Easterling Endowed Chair Professor. Han received his bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University, a master’s degree from Lehigh University and a Sc.D. degree from M.I.T., all in mechanical engineering. He has worked on gas turbine heat transfer and cooling research for over 40 years. He is the co-author of more than 220 refereed journal papers. He received the 2002 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Heat Transfer Memorial Award, 2004 International Rotating Machinery Award, 2004 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Thermophysics Award and 2016 ASME International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) Aircraft Engine Technology Award. Han is an ASME and AIAA fellow and has served as an editor or an associate editor for eight heat transfer-related journals.
(979) 845-3738
jc-han@tamu.edu
Dr. Waruna Kulatilaka
Associate Professor
Areas of Study
- Laser diagnostics and spectroscopy
- Optical techniques for reacting flows
- Gas turbine combustion
Dr. Waruna Kulatilaka is an associate professor of mechanical engineering. His research interests are advanced optical and laser-based diagnostics for gas turbine combustion and propulsion applications, as well as reacting and non-reacting flow studies. He has published nearly 50 peer-reviewed journal articles in these areas. Prior to joining Texas A&M, he was a senior research scientist and contractor at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL-WPAFB), and completed a postdoctoral term at the Combustion Research Facility at Sandia National Laboratories, CA. Kulatilaka is active in numerous professional organizations, including ASME (fellow), AIAA (associate fellow), OSA (senior member), The Combustion Institute (board member–CSS), APS and American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). He has received several awards for outstanding technical contributions and service.
(979) 458-2885
waruna.kulatilaka@tamu.edu
Dr. Olivier Mathieu
Associate Professor
Areas of Study
- Chemical kinetics
- Experiments for reacting flows
Dr. Olivier Mathieu is a Research Associate Professor of mechanical engineering. His research interests are combustion, chemical kinetics, and pollutants formation for gas turbine and transportation applications. He has published nearly 50 peer-reviewed journal articles in these areas. Prior to joining Texas A&M, Mathieu was a Research Scientist at Saudi Aramco where he worked on developing next generation fuels for road transportation. Mathieu is an active member of the Combustion Institute from which he received a national award (French Section) for his PhD work.
(979) 845-7429
olivier.mathieu@tamu.edu
Dr. Alan Palazzolo
Professor
Areas of Study
- Rotordynamics and fluid film bearings
- Magnetic bearings for turbomachinery
- Flywheel energy storage
Dr. Alan Palazzolo is a professor of mechanical engineering with industrial experience at Bently Nevada Corp., Allis Chalmers, Southwest Research Institute and NASA Glenn and Marshall Spaceflight Centers. He performed over $10 million in funded research for NASA, ARL, DOE, ONR, the government of Qatar and private companies. He is an ASME fellow, Endowed Professor, R&D 100 Award recipient, author of 70 archival journal publications, holder of three U.S. patents, author of the textbook, “Vibration Theory and Applications,” and recipient of the best paper award of the ASME Journal of Tribology 2014. His research specialties include rotordynamics, drill string vibration, magnetic bearings, energy storage flywheels, desalination centrifuges, heart pumps, CFD for turbomachinery, fluid film bearings and seals, gears and couplings. Visit http://vcel.tamu.edu/ for more on Palazzolo’s research.
(979) 845-5280
a-palazzolo@tamu.edu
Dr. Luis San Andrés
Mast-Childs Chair Professor
Areas of Study
- Rotordynamics and bearings
- Fluid film bearings
- Oil-free turbomachinery
Dr. Luis San Andrés is the Mast-Childs Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He conducts research in fluid film bearings and seals for turbomachinery, gas foil bearings for high temperature oil-free turbomachinery, hybrid fluid film bearings for turbopumps and squeeze film dampers for aircraft jet engines. His computational codes, benchmarked against test data, are standards in the rotating machinery industry. San Andrés and his students have authored over 160 journal papers and 80 conference papers, several of which have earned Best Paper awards. San Andrés is a fellow of ASME and STLE.
(979) 862-4744
lsanandres@tamu.edu
Dr. Lesley Wright
Associate Professor
Areas of Study
- Heat transfer
- Turbine blade cooling
- Optical diagnostics for fluid flows
Dr. Lesley Wright is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Prior to joining Texas A&M, she was a member of the Mechanical Engineering faculty at Baylor University for ten years. She returns to Texas A&M where she earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 2006. Currently she is investigating enhanced convective cooling technology, including heat transfer enhancement for gas turbine cooling applications. This experimental research has led to the development of innovative cooling technology for both turbine blade film cooling and internal heat transfer enhancement. In addition, Dr. Wright continues to investigate the effect of rotation on the thermal performance of rotor blade cooling passages. Her research interests have also led to the development of novel experimental methods for the acquisition of detailed surface and flow measurements in highly turbulent flows.
(979) 845-3032
lesley_wright@tamu.edu