Robert Hunt, Zakai Olsen and Kwang Kim (Mechanical Engineering) published "Thermo-mechanical response of the twisted and coiled polymer actuator (TCPA): a finite element analysis (FEA)," in the journal Smart Materials and Structures. Hunt and Olsen are doctoral graduates of UNLV.

Nazanin Minaian (Mechanical Engineering) received the Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, and Bioreplication Best Student Paper Award: second place for her paper, “Continuing the Investigation of the Sensing Response of Ionic Polymer-metal Composites: Effects of Geometry and Orientation” (11586-5) from SPIE Smart Structures + NDE 2021. Minaian…

Alexander Barzilov (Mechanical Engineering), Artem Gelis (Chemistry), and Zaijing Sun (Health Physics and Diagnostic Sciences) gave recruitment presentations and answered questions about corresponding nuclear-related programs at the 2021 ANS Virtual Student Conference last week. UNLV is among the 11 top-tier universities invited to have university…

Kwang Kim (Mechanical Engineering) was presented the 2021 SSM Lifetime Achievement award last month. The SPIE Lifetime Achievement Awards recognize senior researchers who have made significant contributions to the field of Smart Structures and Materials (SSM) or Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and who have been…

Alexandrea Washington, Justin Neubauer, and Kwang J. Kim (all Mechanical Engineering) provided a book chapter, "Soft Actuators and their Potential Applications in Rehabilitative Devices," that was published as part of an edited book, Soft Robotics in Rehabilitation, by Amir Fafari and Nafiseh Ebrahimi of University of Texas at San Antonio.…

Nazanin Minaian, Zakai J. Olsen, and Kwang J. Kim (all Mechanical Engineering) provided a book chapter, "Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) Artificial Muscle in Underwater Environments: Review of Actuatioin, Sensing, Controls, and Applications to Softrobotic," that was published as part of a new edited book, Bioinspired Sensing, Actuation,…

Shubhra Bansal (Mechanical Engineering) has received the prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop novel Pb-free and stable mixed halide-chalcogenide perovskite materials for high-efficiency solar cells. Pb-based organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (HPSCs) have shown tremendous promise with a big…

Jeremy Cho (Mechanical Engineering) co-authored a paper published in Science Advances with Jean-François Louf, Nancy B. Lu, Margaret G. O’Connell, and Sujit S. Datta of Princeton University. The paper is "Under Pressure: Hydrogel Swelling in a Granular Medium." Hydrogels, which are polymeric materials that absorb water, are often…

Darrell W. Pepper (Mechanical Engineering) was selected by the Marquis Who's Who Publication Board for the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. In January this year, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, based in London. In 2020, Pepper and his Ph.D. student, Sogol Pirbastami, were selected by the Air…

Robert Beohm (Mechanical Engineering) authored a chapter, "Large Scale Solar Power, Hydrogen Developments, and Building Applications of Solar," that appears in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) published Solar Energy Applications book, edited by K.R. Rao. Published earlier this year, it is the first volume in the new …

Charlotta Sanders (Mechanical Engineering) prepared a report for the United Kingdom's Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, which is now available in the public domain. The report explores feasible processes for accelerating implementation of a geological disposal facility  in the United Kingdom. The report includes recommendations for…

Pouya Shojaei (Mechanical Engineering) will have a new study appear in the Journal of Composites Part B: Engineering — a highly ranked journal in the areas of materials science and composites. Collaborators included UNLV’s Mohamed Trabia, Brendan O’Toole and Richard Jennings (all Mechanical Engineering) with material preparation from Xing…