People
Program Leads
PI, Program Lead
Dr. Carl Moore is an associate professor of mechanical engineering. He earned his BSME from Howard University. Dr. Carl Moore is an associate professor of mechanical engineering. He earned his BSME from Howard University.
camoore@eng.famu.fsu.eduTelephone: (850) 410-6367
Dr. Chiang Shih is a Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering Department, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Aerospace Engineering Department at University of Southern California in 1988. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in August, 1988.
shih@eng.famu.fsu.eduTelephone: (850) 645-0102
Co-PI, FSU Lead
Rajan Kumar is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. He earned his BE in Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, MS and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He is currently the Director of the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP), a multiuniversity, state-wide research, technology and education center established in 2008.
rkumar@fsu.eduTelephone: (850) 645-0149
Co-PI, UCF Lead
Subith Vasu, a professor at UCF in Orlando, is an expert in spectroscopy and optical diagnostics. Before joining UCF in 2012 as an assistant professor, he was a postdoc at Sandia National Labs after obtaining his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2010, and his B.Tech from the India Institute of Technology in Madras, India.
subith@ucf.eduTelephone: (407) 823-3468
Graduate Mentors
Adrianne Brown
My name is Adrianne Brown and I’m a 3rd year mechanical engineering PHD student from Houston, Texas. My current research topic is the Role of Compressibility on Crossflow Separation and Vortex Asymmetry on Slender Axisymmetric Bodies at High Angles of Incidence. My goal is to provide the guidance and support that is needed to be successful and confident in this field. After graduation, I plan to go into the aerospace industry to continue working on groundbreaking research and projects.
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Danielle Carr
My name is Danielle Carr. I am a third-year Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering working in the dynamics and controls area. My concentration is in Haptics/Human-Robot Interaction and my research topic is the Design and Control of a Wearable Haptic Interface for Shape-Based Remote Manipulation. My short-term goal is to publish another conference paper focusing on the design of my haptic interface. My long-term goal is to inspire the next generation of engineers to develop new techniques in haptics that would aid in the creation of new technology that can be applied to help with a sustainable future.
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Gabrielle Mayans
My name is Gabrielle Mayans. I am a first-generation Hispanic graduate student; I am the first on my father’s side to graduate high school and the first on my mother’s side to graduate college. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering May 2022. I am currently a graduate student in the BS-MS Traineeship Program and will be graduating with my master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering May 2023. I currently do research at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab). My research is based in the cryogenics field along with magnetic fields. Cryogenic is the study of fluids at extremely low temperatures. My current research project is for my master’s program, it is a numerical modeling of magnetic field gradient for cryogenic fuel management in microgravity. I interned at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center last summer thanks to the BP-AE program. At MSFC, I was able to find my passion for aerospace and cryogenics. I hope to graduate from FAMU-FSU College of Engineering with a job lined up at MSFC as an aerospace engineer.
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Noah Moffeit
My name is Noah Moffeit. I am a first year Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. I have recently graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. I work as a graduate research assistant at the Florida Center for Advanced Aero Propulsion studying base flow fields of vehicles traveling in the supersonic and hypersonic flight regime. This work has provided me with experience using experimental techniques such as steady pressure measurements, oil flow visualization, shadowgraphy, and pressure-sensitive paint. I hope to continue my research through graduate school, and one day obtain my Doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering.
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Bryce Outten
My name is Bryce Outten. I am a 3rd-year Mechanical Ph.D. student in fluid mechanics. My concentration is in aerodynamics, and I am studying the Dynamics Response of the Shear Layer to Cavity Door Operation at Supersonic Speeds for my research. I have a bachelors in Aerospace engineering and a minor in Material Science. My short-term goal is to publish my first journal paper through AIAA. My long-term goal is to become a skillful engineer who can contribute to the aerospace engineering industry field and give back my knowledge and experience to the next generation of black engineers.
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Royce Pokela
My name is Royce Pokela. I am a third-year PhD student at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. I began my research experience as an undergraduate research assistant at the High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI) working in additive manufacturing. There, I completed my undergraduate senior design with the NASA sponsored development of 3D printing fiber optics. I am currently completing my research at the Florida Center of Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP). I use advanced experimental techniques to characterize various flow phenomena that occur on axisymmetric slender bodies and compare results with high-fidelity simulations. In the short term, I hope to continue to expand my knowledge of computational fluid simulations to coincide with my extended experimental experience. In the long term, I hope to utilize my PhD to work in high level research with NASA at one of their aeronautics research sites. My interest mainly lies with rocket aerodynamics and launch vehicle characterization and research.
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Robert Smith
My name is Robert Smith and I am a first year PHD student in Mechanical Engineering at Florida State University and have lived in Tallahassee all of my life. During my college career, I have performed research on various fluids topics. Initially, I started with research that investigated the boundary layer effects of a fuel bed on the spread of fire. Following this, I moved onto doing research in the supersonic flow regime where the aerodynamic impact of side mounted fairings was investigated. Over the past year, I have been working on research projects related to the characterization of a supersonic intake’s performance with a varying boundary layer and the impacts of a dynamically articulating nose cone on a missile model. Once I graduate, I plan on working in the industry in development of high-speed flight vehicles
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rsmith17@fsu.edu
Cayla Walker
My name is Cayla Walker. I am currently pursuing her PhD in Mechanical engineering at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. I am also currently doing research at the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP) under her advisor, Dr. Rajan Kumar, where she is investigating the articulation of a nosecone which can be applied to flight control. I recently moved here from Panama City, Florida where I graduated in 2022 with my undergraduate degree in Mechanical engineering at Florida State University Panama City. Over the next few years, I’m hoping to finish out my degree and find a job in Aerospace engineering where I can apply what I learned in my research.
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Jordan Wilkerson
Hello, my name is Jordan Wilkerson I am a first year PhD student in the fluids track. I was a participant in the BP-AE program summer 2022. I worked under the supervision of Dr. Nair with the help of his graduate student Anirudh Prasad. My project dealt with quantifying effects of expansion ratio on flow-filed of rectangular jets. I am now working with Dr. Nair as a graduate student.
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BP-AE Fellows
Ameen Babbs
I'm Ameen Babbs and I live in Jacksonville, Florida. I'm an engineering student pursuing a second bachelor's degree with a focus on electrical engineering, robotics, and sustainable design. My expertise is in sustainability and robotics. I've worked on a number of projects specifically related to robotics and environmentally friendly engineering. These projects involve haptic robotics, and I was involved in the development of a device that enables haptic feedback in virtual reality. This is primarily focused on developing a tool for youth outreach, but its intended end use is specifically for telecommunications purposes in between. Additionally, I participated in a summer camp in 2023 where I helped design a curriculum for students in grades 6 through 8 to learn about the environment. Additionally, I took part in a summer camp in 2023 where I helped design a curriculum for students in grades 6 through 8 to spark their interest in stem. As part of the program, I was required to plan and develop a project that would show students how to apply engineering principles to a project. In particular, the project I developed was a water turbine that used water as the current source and a brushless AC motor to generate electricity. The back emf created by the motor made it possible to control the flow of electricity. Then it was demonstrated how batteries could be used to store the electricity in a hydro pump.
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Kathleen Bodden
My name is Kathleen Bodden. I am a BS-MS pathway student, about to begin graduate school. I attend Florida State University, getting my non-thesis Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. This is my first year in the BP-AE program where I will be participating as in the summer REU program. Im currently an undergraduate research under Dr. Taylor Higgins working on gray box model predictive control for an artificial pancreas. I plan to finish my graduate degree, having mastered dynamics and controls, and utilize my knowledge and experience in the industry.
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Nia Britton
Greetings! I’m a third year FAMU mechanical engineering student with an interest in the aerospace industry. This would be my first year in the BP-AE program and I am excited for what’s in store!
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Gabrielle Frost
Greetings my name is Gabrielle Frost I am a Biomedical Engineer from Pembroke Pines, Florida. Ever since I was little I always wanted to work for NASA, however, it was not until recently when I wanted to become I Biomedical Engineer. I always had an inspiration for helping people with my devices. This program welcomed me in and my unusual request and now I am interning with NASA working on Astronaut suits. This program has a great mentoring program, I joined since my freshmen years and I become a better engineer everyday.
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Nycholas Gierhan
My name is Nycholas Gierhan. I am an FSU graduate student pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Dynamics and Controls Track). My interests lie in the control aspects of dynamic systems, namely aircraft. I am part of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars program. The focus of this summer's project is better understanding of articulating airframes. I work in the Optimal Robotics Lab, and my PhD advisor is Dr. Christian Hubicki. My long term goal is to have a career in Academia.
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Kevin Hernandez Lichtl
My name is Kevin Hernandez Lichtl. I am a senior FSU mechancial engineering student in the Fluids Track. My academic interests are in Aerospace engineering, specifically space-related. This is my second year in the BP-AE program, and I will again be a part of the Air Force Research Labortory (AFRL) Scholars program researching articulating airframes. For the past year, I've been an undergraduate researcher under Dr. Rajan Kumar & Dr. Jonas Gustavsson working on FCAAP's Captive Trajectory System (CTS). In future, I plan to go to graduate school, pursue my PH.D. in Fluid Mechanics, and enter the Space Industry.
Tyler Ince-Ingram
Hello, my name is Tyler Ince-Ingram! I am currently a Senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering on the thermal fluids/aeronautics track at Florida State University. I am interested in the Aerospace Engineering field, specifically focusing on propulsion systems. Following my undergraduate degree, I will be pursuing a Master's in Mechanical Engineering focused in thermal fluids. I was a member of the inaugural BP-AE program at the College of Engineering in Summer 2022 where I was able to intern at the NASA Kennedy Space Center working in the Research & Technology Management Office.
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William Lloyd Nealy
My name is William Lloyd Nealy. I am a sophomore FAMU mechanical engineering inf his undergraduate. My academic interests are Aerospace and Robotics engineering. This is my first-time in the BP-AE program and I hope to be a part of this program for the following years of my college career. I plan to go to graduate school and pursue my PH D.
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Cason Allen
Solomon Andrews
Aleksander Grabowski
Aliya Hutley
Kyle Mahoney
Rafael Meza
Catherine Potts
Carlos Sanchez-Sarmiento
Bryce Dickerson
Danielle Edwards
Michael Henry
Dior Reece