Dr. John J. Engblom Professor and Department Head, Dr. Engblom’s research interest lies in modeling and structures. Dr. Engblom teaches Finite Element Analysis based on computer models and Computer Aided Engineering (PRO-E/CAD/AUTOCAD) as well as oversees the junior and senior designs for the Mechanical Engineers. He is currently studying the failure properties and development of composite materials.
Dr. David C. Fleming Assistant Professor for Aerospace Practicum, Aerospace Structures, Mechanics of Materials and faculty advisor for Florida Tech’s student AIAA chapter. Dr. Fleming specializes in composites and his current projects include structural analysis of materials. Previously Dr. Fleming has worked on crash-worthiness of materials.
Dr. Hector Gutierrez Assistant Professor as well as receiver of the NSF Career Award, Dr. Gutierrez teaches Mechatronics, Control Systems and Instrumentation . His main interest lies in electromechanical systems. He researches magnetic suspension systems and is currently overlooking the Foster-Miller Track lent to us by NASA. Dr. Gutierrez also is interested in control systems and data acquisition systems.
Dr. Pei-feng Hsu Dr. Hsu, an Associate Professor in the MAE Dept. teaches Thermodynamics, HVAC and his interest lies in radiation heat transfer mechanisms, combustion and other energy systems. He is currently working with the NSF on several projects: developing a parallel algorithm for the upgraded Beowulf Cluster and a new numerical method for radiation heat transfer within media.
Dr. L. Krishnamurthy Professor in Aerospace Fundamentals, Fluids 2, Air-breathing Engines and Rockets and Mission Analysis. Dr. Krishnamurthy is interested in aerospace propulsion and combustion, as well as on mathematical modeling and CFD (computational fluid dynamics). He is currently working independently on fluid flows including asymptotic analysis of turbulent shear flows and hypersonic shock structures.
Dr. P. M. Larochelle Associate Professor, Dr. Larochelle teaches Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Theory of Machines and is the director of the Robotics and Spatial Systems Laboratory which is his current research interest. His other research projects include path planning and control methodologies for robotic systems and under NSF developing a virtual reality environment for the analysis of spatial mechanisms. Dr. Larochelle is also the faculty advisor for ASME.
Dr. Kunal Mitra Assistant Professor in Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer and Thermal Systems Design. Dr. Mitra’s interests lie in applying short pulse lasers for tomography, ophthalmology and thermal transport characteristics of thin films. He is also interested in numerical modeling and energy systems. Dr. Mitra is also currently working with the Mechanical Engineering Department on improving the Heat Transfer Laboratory coursework.
Dr. M. Russell Dr. Russell, Associate Professor in Aerospace Engineering Department teaches Aerospace Fundamentals, Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics, and Aircraft Stability and Controls. His area of expertise lies in fluid dynamics and he is interested in the design of airfoil sections for airplane wings. Boundary layer regions close to bodies where instability is evident and the transition from laminar to turbulent flow are areas of interest as well.
Dr. Paavo Sepri Associate Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department, Dr. Sepri teaches Introduction to Aerospace and Senior Design. Dr. Sepri ‘s area of expertise lies in fluid mechanics and his interests include Computational Fluid Dynamics, turbulent boundary models and analysis, aerodynamic testing of flow in wing/body joints and improving performance of fuel cells.
Dr. Y.I. Sharaf-Eldeen Dr. Eldeen is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and he teaches Dynamics and is interested in mathematical modeling, simulation and designs of dynamic systems including vibrations, robotics and energy power systems. His current research projects include response of occupants in automobile collisions, dynamic and control of robot manipulators, condition monitoring and fault diagnosing of rotating machinery.
Dr. Palmer C. Stiles Assistant Professor, Dr. Stiles teaches Solids Modeling and Machine Systems Design. His research interests include Robotics, design of a conceptual flying car in affiliation with students and rapid transit. He has worked research at the Kennedy Space Center’s Robotics Laboratory. He has published a book on patents and the evolution of flying cars and road able aircrafts.
Dr. C.S. Subramanian Associate Professor of the Aerospace Engineering Program, Dr. Subramanian teaches Aerospace Practicum and Experimental Aerodynamics. He is interested in developing better flow models by studying turbulent flows with vortices at the boundary layers, curved/rotating shear layers to improve more efficient airfoils for high performance airfoils. Dr. Subramanian has been researching the use of Laser Doppler to visualize and record the fluid flow properties as well as wing loading on structures, gas turbine and other combustions systems. Currently he is also investigating engine performance using alternative fuels and absorption rates of silica gel desiccants.