Yinghe Qi, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab), has received the Gustav and Ingrid Klipping Award, one of cryogenic engineering’s top international honors for early-career researchers.

The International Cryogenic Engineering Committee presents the Gustav and Ingrid Klipping Award to a young researcher for outstanding work in cryogenic engineering. The award honors the Klippings’ contributions to the field and their commitment to involving the next generation of researchers. It is presented during the International Cryogenic Engineering Conference, held every two years and candidates must be 35 years of age or younger at the start of the conference.

Qi will receive the award at the 30th International Cryogenic Engineering Conference and International Cryogenic Materials Conference, scheduled for June 22–26 in Daejeon, South Korea.

“It is a privilege to be recognized by the cryogenic engineering community with this award,” Qi said. “I am incredibly thankful for the chance to work with Dr. Guo and our group at the MagLab. This environment has given me the support to tackle complex challenges in cryogenics, from dark matter detection to beamline vacuum break analysis and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such impactful research.”

Advancing dark matter detection and accelerator safety

Qi was nominated by Professor Wei Guo of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, who cited her “broad knowledge, rigorous analytical ability and exceptional experimental and computational skills.” Her work spans several major research fronts, most notably the design of a cryogenic platform for the TESSERACT Collaboration’s dark matter search and new safety models for particle accelerator beamlines.

TESSERACT, which stands for Transition-Edge Sensors with Sub-EV Resolution And Cryogenic Targets, searches for low-mass dark matter roughly a hundred to a thousand times lighter than a standard WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle). Florida State University researchers, including members of Guo’s lab, are part of the collaboration and much of the effort in designing the specialized cryostat used in these searches was led by Guo’s team at the MagLab.

“This is a highly competitive international honor that recognizes exceptional early-career contributions to cryogenic engineering and applied low-temperature science,” Guo said. “Dr. Qi’s work has made a strong impact in cryogenic heat transfer and safety-relevant cryogenic-system modeling.”

The impact of cryogenic engineering research

Qi’s research has produced results published in leading peer-reviewed journals and carries practical value for laboratories around the world. Her work on sudden vacuum-break events in cryogenic accelerator systems, known as beamline vacuum break analysis, addresses safety challenges for facilities such as particle accelerators that rely on liquid-helium-cooled beamlines.

Guo’s broader research program at the college and MagLab spans quantum fluids and solids, cryogenic platforms and quantum sensing and devices. Qi has been a central contributor within that group for more than two years. Beyond her research contributions, she has also been recognized as a dedicated mentor within the lab.

Guo offered his “strongest recommendation” for the award, citing Qi’s scientific maturity and breadth of expertise across multiple subfields of cryogenic engineering.

FSU Quantum Initiative

Guo is co-director of the FSU Quantum Initiative and leads the Cryogenics Lab at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, where his research focuses on cryogenics, with applications in quantum fluid dynamics, liquid-helium-based dark matter detection, cryogenic accelerator physics, quantum-fluid-based qubits and liquid hydrogen aviation.

The Klipping Award places Qi among a small group of early-career researchers recognized internationally for pushing the boundaries of low-temperature science. Her selection reflects both the depth of her individual contributions and the strength of the research environment at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the MagLab.

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FAMU-FSU College of Engineering researchers contribute to landmark study demonstrating ultra-low noise levels in innovative qubit platform

Florida State University and FAMU-FSU College of Engineering faculty members Wei Guo and Xianjing Zhou are part of a multi-institution research team whose latest findings advance one of the most promising platforms in quantum computing.

A new qubit, the fundamental building block of quantum information processing, invented at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory exhibits noise levels thousands of times lower than those of most traditional qubits. The study was published in Nature Electronics.

Noise refers to disturbances in the environment that diminish a qubit’s performance. The platform is built by trapping single electrons on the surface of frozen neon gas, and the recent findings position it as a strong contender in the field of high-performance quantum technologies.

The new study was jointly led by Argonne and the University of Notre Dame. Faculty at Florida State University, the University of Chicago, Harvard University and Northeastern University collaborated on the research.

“One of the biggest obstacles in quantum computing is finding a material environment that is quiet enough for qubits to survive, yet practical enough for building larger systems,” said Guo, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and researcher at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. “This study shows that solid neon offers a very compelling combination of cleanliness, stability and resilience. That is exactly the kind of foundation we need if we want quantum hardware to become more robust and scalable.”

Quantum computing: Potentially transformative, but challenged by noise

Today’s computers and smartphones run on bits, which are tiny switches that can be either 0 or 1. Quantum computers use a special kind of bit known as qubits that can be 0 and 1 at the same time. What’s more, the state of one qubit can instantly affect another qubit’s state, even if they are on opposite sides of the planet.

The remarkable properties of qubits can endow quantum computers with exponentially greater computational power than that of classical computers. This opens the door to solving challenging problems like inventing disease-curing drugs, advancing materials design, enabling secure communication and optimizing complex supply chains.

Yet quantum computers are still an emerging technology. Qubits are extremely sensitive to noise — tiny disturbances in the environment such as electromagnetic fields, heat and particle vibrations. As a result, qubits tend to have short coherence times, meaning they can only retain information for a fraction of a second.

Most of today’s chip-based qubits are made of semiconducting or superconducting materials. But these qubits are often challenged by noise from material defects, embedded charges and fabrication variability. The electron-on-neon qubit has the potential to address these limitations.

Solid neon is less noisy

In 2022, Argonne scientists at the Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM), a DOE Office of Science user facility, invented a fundamentally new type of qubit made by freezing neon gas into a solid and spraying electrons from a light bulb filament onto the solid. A special electrode traps a single electron just above the neon’s surface. The electron serves as the qubit, with the electron’s motion in space representing the qubit’s 0 and 1 states.

In this platform, electrons reside in a vacuum just above the neon surface rather than deep inside a conventional solid, which means they are naturally less exposed to the defects and fluctuating environments that often limit qubit performance in other solid-state platforms. Earlier studies had already shown that electrons on solid neon could function as qubits and achieve remarkably strong coherence under highly protected conditions. This new work takes an important next step by showing that the platform remains quiet and functional under less ideal conditions more relevant to future quantum hardware.

Testing for resilience

The study evaluated the platform’s quietness with a systematic noise characterization. Rather than testing the device only under its most protected operating condition, the team examined how the qubit behaved away from the charge-insensitive “sweet spot” and at elevated temperatures, where environmental disturbances become more consequential, allowing researchers to probe the practical resilience of the platform under realistic operating conditions.

The study team found that the noise in the neon qubit platform is 10 to 10,000 times lower than that in most semiconducting qubits and rivals the lowest semiconductor noise records. The researchers also found that the qubits can maintain coherence times above 1 microsecond at temperatures up to 400 millikelvins, a noteworthy result because quantum devices generally become more vulnerable to decoherence as temperature rises.

“Our work shows that solid neon is not only an exceptionally clean host for trapped-electron qubits, but also a surprisingly robust one,” said Xianjing Zhou, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and a corresponding author of the paper. “That is exciting because reducing noise and relaxing temperature constraints are both essential for pushing quantum devices beyond carefully protected laboratory demonstrations toward more realistic technologies.”

That temperature robustness could prove especially valuable for scaling. Quantum processors typically operate at extremely low temperatures, where cooling power is limited and system engineering becomes increasingly difficult. A qubit platform that remains coherent at higher temperatures could ease one of the major bottlenecks in building larger and more practical quantum systems.

“By carefully characterizing the noise seen by the qubit, we can begin to understand why this platform performs so well and where further improvements can be made,” said Xu Han, scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and co-corresponding author of the study. “That insight is important as we work toward more advanced trapped-electron quantum devices.”

A growing quantum hub in Tallahassee

Guo’s and Zhou’s contributions to this research reflect a broader and growing investment in quantum science taking shape at FSU.

Florida State University’s Quantum Initiative aims to advance quantum science and engineering and accelerate the development of technologies that could reshape computing, communication, sensing and understanding of the physical world. The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, in partnership with Florida A&M University, is establishing the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering.

Together, these institutional investments are helping build a strong regional ecosystem for quantum research and education, creating opportunities for students to engage in cutting-edge research, deepen their technical expertise and prepare for careers in the rapidly growing quantum workforce.

The study’s authors included Xu Han and Yizhong Huang at Argonne, and Xinhao Li, who was at Argonne when this research was conducted; Yutian Wen and Dafei Jin at the University of Notre Dame; Christopher S. Wang and Brennan Dizdar at the University of Chicago; Wei Guo and Xianjing Zhou at FSU and the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering; and Xufeng Zhang at Northeastern University.

The research was supported by DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Argonne’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, Julian Schwinger Foundation for Physics Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Science Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program, and the France and Chicago Collaborating in the Sciences program. Guo’s research was additionally supported by an NSF grant through Florida A&M University and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Grant through Florida State University.

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At high speeds, even the smallest movement can have major consequences.

When an aircraft tilts sharply during flight, the air around it does not flow smoothly. It twists into powerful, swirling currents that can destabilize the entire vehicle. These swirling structures, known as vortices, can behave unpredictably, sometimes causing aircraft to pull to one side or rotate unexpectedly. In extreme cases, they can damage critical components such as sensors or wing flaps.

New FAMU-FSU College of Engineering research shows how different angles of flight affect the vortices that form behind cones in flight. The research, published in Journal of Aircraft, could help design more stable missiles and high-speed aircraft.

“Aircraft in flight are subject to extreme forces, and as speed and maneuvering increase, these forces only get stronger,” said study co-author Rajan Kumar, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and director of the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion. “This study helps to understand critical phenomena responsible for those forces so engineers can create efficient and more stable designs.”

How it works

Vortices are common, but under certain conditions, they can become catastrophic.

As the cone-shaped nose of an aircraft moves through the air, vortices form behind it. As the aircraft increases its angle of incidence, or how steeply it is tilted relative to airflow, the behavior of these vortices changes. At low angles, airflow remains balanced and predictable. Beyond a critical angle, however, vortices can become large and unstable. When this breakdown happens, air slows down sharply and may spread out into different patterns.

This shift creates uneven swirling flows, or asymmetric vortices, that generate unwanted side and rotational forces, causing the aircraft to veer off course. In high-stakes environments, particularly military operations, even a slight deviation can mean missing a target or losing control entirely.

What they found

To better understand the transition from stable to asymmetric vortices, Kumar’s team combined experimental testing with advanced computational simulations to model complex airflow and identify when and how instability develops.

Using this method, they simulated airflow over a cone-shaped object traveling just above the speed of sound at Mach 1.1 at three angles of incidence: 15, 25, and 30 degrees.

At a 15‑degree angle, the main swirl of air breaks down into a complex pattern resembling two intertwined spirals, which then split into many thin, tangled strands of swirling air.

At 25 and 30 degrees, the breakdown looks different. The swirl twists apart in a single spiral pattern, indicating even stronger instability.

As the angle of incidence increased, vortex asymmetry also increased. Airflow shifted from structured and predictable to unstable and erratic, illustrating how quickly control conditions can deteriorate in real-world flight.

Vortex breakdown

The study helps answer a long-standing question in aerospace research: Why do vortices suddenly become asymmetric?

The study showed that growing instabilities within airflow unite to create larger disruptions. As small secondary vortices form and interact with primary vortices, they merge into larger structures that disrupt the aircraft’s balance.

The research also showed that vortex behavior depends on several interacting factors, including the size of the vortices and their orientation relative to the aircraft. Together, these elements determine how much force is exerted on the vehicle and how difficult it becomes to control.

Why it matters: The future of flight

Understanding the forces at work on aircraft in flight has direct implications for how they are designed and operated. These findings help engineers define safe flight conditions by identifying when airflow remains stable and when additional control systems are needed. This is especially important for high-performance aircraft that rely on extreme maneuverability.

The research also supports new design strategies, including improved control surfaces, flow control techniques and future systems that could adjust automatically during flight.

Kumar and his team are expanding their research to explore vortex behavior at higher speeds and they are transonic investigating control methods that could allow aircraft to respond to instability in real time, potentially using advances in artificial intelligence and automated systems.

At Florida State University, this work is also shaping the next generation of engineers. Students involved in this research go on to careers in industry, government labs and defense agencies.

“Research outcomes matter, but our most important product is our students. They are the future of engineering and science,” Kumar said.

Doctoral student Jordan Wilkerson and Associate Professor Unnikrishnan Sasidharan Nair were co-authors on this study. This research was supported by the Army Research Office.

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The research could help develop methods for reducing intense noise that threatens aircraft and ground crews

Researchers from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion, or FCAAP, are helping to solve a safety challenge in military aviation: the extreme noise generated by supersonic jets during takeoff and landing.

The research, published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, demonstrates a new model for understanding how supersonic jets of air collide with the ground or other structures to create a resonant feedback loop that produces extreme noise that can reach dangerous volume levels.

The team examined jets like those found in a type of aircraft known as Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing jets, or STOVL. The ability to operate without a traditional runway gives these aircraft, such as the F-35B Lightning II, critical tactical advantages.

But as they descend toward the ground, their exhaust plumes interact with landing surfaces and generate intense noise, often exceeding 140 decibels, posing serious dangers to both aircraft structure and nearby personnel.

“Only a tiny fraction of the jet’s energy is transformed into sound, but this small fraction has a major impact,” said Farrukh S. Alvi, professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and former founding director of the Institute for Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Research, and Education, or InSPIRE, and founding director of FCAAP. “The intense noise produced by jet engines can cause structural damage to the aircraft and damage the hearing of personnel on the ground. We are trying to understand the physics behind these supersonic jets and the noise they produce so that we can develop tools that can reduce their impacts. In fact, we have already had some success in developing techniques that can reduce jet noise.”

Why it matters

When the high-speed air coming from jet engines mixes with the ambient air, it creates large-scale disturbances that hit the ground, producing strong sound waves that propagate back toward the jet engine. This establishes a repeating, back‑and‑forth interaction and creates resonance, an example of a feedback loop, causing loud and repeating noise. For aircraft, these resonant vibrations accelerate structural fatigue and can generate hazardous low-pressure zones that can pull the aircraft toward the ground.

For crewmembers on the ground, sustained exposure to sound levels over 140 decibels can cause permanent hearing damage, even when wearing protective equipment. At peak intensities, extreme acoustic pressure can even cause organ damage.

An animation showing an aircraft using supersonic jets for a vertical landing. As it descends toward the ground, exhaust plumes interact with landing surfaces to generate intense noise, often exceeding 140 decibels, posing serious dangers to both aircraft structure and nearby personnel. (Courtesy of Myungjun Song)

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FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Associate Professor Shreyas Balachandran is earning accolades for his work building next-generation particle accelerators that could lead to breakthroughs in scientific research and industrial applications.

Balachandran received an Early Career Award from the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE. The award, given through DOE’s Accelerator Research and Development (ARDAP) Program in the Office of Science, will provide $875,000 over five years.

The funding provides Balachandran with support to develop superconducting radio frequency materials to enable linear accelerators — a critical technology for the United States.

Balachandran is a faculty member in the Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Materials Science at the joint college. He was selected to receive the award as part of DOE’s Early Career Research Program.

Building a better particle accelerator

Particle accelerators accelerate charged particles, such as electrons and ions, to very high speeds. These accelerators are vital in fields such as nuclear and high-energy physics, as well as in industries such as food safety, medical device sterilization and water treatment.

“Our project involves a special technology called superconducting radio-frequency, or SRF,” Balachandran said. “SRF technology efficiently turns radio waves into powerful beams of electrons.”

Most accelerators use niobium metal, which works as a superconductor only at extremely cold temperatures, around minus 442 degrees Fahrenheit. Keeping things this cold requires complicated and expensive cooling systems with liquid helium, which makes the machines bulky and difficult to use in many settings.

Balachandran’s goal is to use new materials, called A15 compounds, that can function as superconductors at higher temperatures.

“By using these materials and combining them with copper structures, we hope to build accelerator parts that don’t need extensive cryogenic infrastructure, and can use compact cryocoolers to operate,” Balachandran said. “This could make accelerators smaller, cheaper and easier to use in hospitals, factories and other places outside of big research labs.”

To achieve this, his team will use a process called chemical vapor deposition. This technique creates very thin layers of superconducting material on copper surfaces, helping the machines operate more reliably while addressing some of the problems with current materials. He plans to involve industry partners so discoveries can be quickly applied to real-world applications.

“Dr. Balachandran’s work is innovative and reflects his leading expertise in superconductors and cryo-techniques,” said Richard Liang, associate dean for research for the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. “His success in earning this highly competitive award is a testament to his dedication, expertise and the impact of his research on both science and society. We are very happy to see his first major success in such a short timeframe.”

Balachandran graduated from Texas A&M University in 2015 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Applied Superconductivity Center and then a staff scientist at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility before joining the joint college in March 2025.

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Scientists Tackle Critical Gap in Fire Prediction With Current Models That Fail to Capture How Living Trees Influence Wildfire Behavior

When wildfires rage through forests, current prediction models treat trees as static obstacles, ignoring their swaying movement and dynamic influence on flames. Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering are developing the first computational models that capture how living, moving trees influence fire behavior, research that will help improve predictions for these disasters.

Through a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Associate Professors Neda Yaghoobian and Kourosh Shoele from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering are leading research to solve one of fire science’s most pressing challenges: the inability to accurately predict how fires spread through dynamic forest environments where trees interact with wind and flames.

“Current fire models oversimplify forests as static blocks and do not accurately capture how trees sway, bend and influence airflow and fire dynamics. These oversights can lead to inaccurate forecasts of fire behavior, which may limit the effectiveness of prescribed burns and emergency planning,” Yaghoobian said.

The research comes at a critical time when wildfires have become more frequent, intense, and destructive over the past 20 years. According to recent studies, wildfire activity across the United States has approximately doubled over two decades, with economic impacts now estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

Challenges in fire modeling

What sets this research apart is its unprecedented focus on tree biomechanics — the study of how trees respond to mechanical loads and resist failure —and how vegetation movement affects fire spread patterns.

“Tree movements in the wind play a powerful yet little-understood role in how wildfires spread,” Shoele said. “The main challenge is how to capture this effect in models. In this project, we are tackling this problem by developing tools that, for the first time, let us predict how trees’ bending and swaying movements shape wildland fire behavior.”

This innovative approach combines advanced computational fluid dynamics, biomechanical principles and combustion science to better understand the complex interactions between wind, vegetation and fire in forest environments.

The engineering team is developing models to investigate how tree canopy aerodynamics affect fire dynamics and how surface fires become high-intensity blazes in a canopy. Collaborators at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, will conduct experiments in their fire science laboratory to provide data to validate the FSU model.

The computational models will require supercomputer capabilities to handle their complexity. The enhanced models represent a significant advancement in wildfire modeling technology, with the team expecting these tools to provide more realistic predictions of fire behavior, enabling land managers to anticipate and respond more effectively to wildfire threats.

Innovative Laboratory-Field Research Partnership

The collaboration with WPI creates a unique research ecosystem that combines theoretical modeling with practical experimentation. While the FAMU-FSU team focuses on developing advanced computational models, their WPI partners conduct critical laboratory experiments that validate and refine these models.

This partnership approach ensures that the theoretical advances translate into practical tools that can be used by fire management professionals. The laboratory experiments provide essential data for model validation, while the computational models offer insights that inform future experimental designs.

Implications for Fire Management and Public Safety

The enhanced predictive capabilities could play a critical role in supporting proactive fire management strategies, improving prescribed burn planning and helping communities prepare for the inevitable challenges that wildfires present.

“This understanding is pivotal for improving fire response strategies and ensuring public safety in areas vulnerable to wildfire,” Yaghoobian said.

Training the Next Generation of Wildfire Scientists

A key component of the project involves extensive collaboration between fire management practitioners and engineering students. The team is working with natural resource management entities to create unique training opportunities for students from both institutions.

Students trained in computational and experimental modeling will receive hands-on training in fire management practices and real-world case studies. In return, these students will share their research expertise with fire professionals and the broader public, creating a valuable knowledge exchange.

The project’s educational impact extends to improving public safety, enhancing wildfire resilience, and developing the next generation of interdisciplinary wildfire scientists who understand both the technical and practical aspects of fire management.

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A Florida State University faculty researcher at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering has secured a major $3.9 million grant from the Air Force Research Laboratory, a division of the Department of Defense, to lead  research in hypervelocity technology, pushing the boundaries of speed beyond Mach 5. 

Rajan Kumar, chair and professor of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the college and director of the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP), is spearheading the project.  

“Hypersonic is the word in the air right now. Every major aerospace institution is playing a big role,” Kumar said. “For us, it is a natural extension because we were already doing a lot of work up to Mach 5. Now, the plan is to expand it beyond that, going up to higher Mach numbers and trying to understand how hypersonic flows are different.” 

The grant, awarded primarily by the U.S. Air Force, will enable the team to acquire state-of-the-art hardware and advanced diagnostics equipment. These tools will help researchers better analyze and understand the physics behind hypervelocity flows. The project also aims to develop new computational tools for designing next-generation flight systems. 

“This grant involves many researchers of our MAE department, “Kumar said. “We will be doing some experiments at FCAAP and we will be working with our computational faculty to develop new technologies that are needed for the design and development of next-generation high-speed flight vehicles. This research will be carried out in close collaboration with AFRL scientists and engineers.” 

Why is it important?

High-speed wind tunnel testing remains a cornerstone for the development of hypersonic flight vehicles due to its cost-effectiveness compared to actual flight testing. The research will focus on replicating realistic flow conditions in wind tunnels, crucial for reliable data and innovation in the field. Hypersonic aerodynamics are highly complex, involving shock-boundary layer heating and intricate interactions that challenge even the most advanced aerospace engineers. 

“We have been working with the Air Force Research Laboratory for nearly 15 to 20 years, supporting a range of high-speed projectile development programs,” Kumar noted. “This new grant is designed to enhance our capabilities in understanding hypervelocity flows with more advanced diagnostics and simulate realistic flow conditions in a wind tunnel, which is critical for reliability and data accuracy.” 

Making an impact

The initiative promises immediate benefits for existing research projects and student education at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, while also laying the foundation for a dramatic shift in high-speed experimental aerodynamics research and training.  

The new hypervelocity test facility is expected to become a unique, shared resource for universities, government labs, and industry partners alike — driving forward key advances in hypersonic vehicle development, experimental flow control technologies, and the training of a new, multicultural generation of engineers and scientists. 

“FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is set to become a national leader in hypersonic research,” Kumar says. “This research will support the Department of Defense’s ongoing interests and help to fill crucial gaps in the understanding of high enthalpy flows at hypersonic speeds.”

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Transformation recognizes institutional leadership in high-speed aerodynamics, advanced manufacturing and next-generation flight technologies

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is reaching new heights in aerospace research and education. Driven by cutting-edge grants, state-of-the-art facilities and a spirit of collaboration, MAE is shaping the future of flight and inspiring the next generation of innovators.

At the heart of this momentum is Rajan Kumar, professor and director of the Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP). Under his leadership, the MAE department is bridging mechanical engineering with aerospace innovation and opening doors to exciting opportunities for both students and faculty.

Recognition of the Mission with a New Name

Earlier this year, following a comprehensive review and official approval by Florida A&M University and Florida State University, the Department of Mechanical Engineering became the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE).

“Having that name is very important for students getting jobs in aerospace and for training them in the areas of interest,” Kumar said. “It will boost our rankings and expand career opportunities for our students, especially in the growing aerospace sector.”

The department’s new name signals a focus on cutting-edge research and education.

“Aerospace engineering is one of the fastest-growing fields in research and graduate education,” said Zhiyong (Richard) Liang, Sprint Eminent Scholar Chair Professor and associate dean for research. “The new MAE department showcases the powerful synergy between our mechanical and aerospace strengths, boosting our visibility and attracting top-tier research and students from around the world.”

This transformation brings with it three graduate programs in aerospace engineering: a non-thesis Master of Science, a thesis-based Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy. The department also offers a specialized Aerospace Engineering – Aerodynamics Certificate to ensure undergraduate students have a variety of pathways to launch their careers.

Florida Center for Advanced Aero-Propulsion (FCAAP): A National Research Asset

FCAAP is located in the college’s Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Center devoted to the needs of the highly competitive aerospace industry. Kumar’s group studies things that “move very fast,” — like rockets and aircraft — and the resulting hypersonic flow that you can’t see with the naked eye but has a major impact on performance and noise.

“At FCAAP, we’re powering national programs involving high-speed aerodynamics,” Kumar said. “Our one-of-a-kind polysonic wind tunnel offers testing capabilities you won’t find anywhere else. It spans speeds from Mach 0.2 to Mach 5 — covering subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic velocities — making it an invaluable resource for groundbreaking research.”

The facility’s several low-speed tunnels are crucial for studying takeoff, landing, automotive and industrial testing. It also features jet labs for studying engine exhaust.

“We focus on the engine exhaust noise and its impact on the aircraft and nearby structures,” Kumar said.

Understanding aerodynamic flow and noise at different speed regimes is critical to aircraft performance and safety. Engine exhaust noise can cause structural fatigue and impact nearby communities, while precise flow control at supersonic and hypersonic velocities is essential for structural integrity and thermal management, making these research capabilities vital for developing quieter, more efficient next-generation aerospace systems.

In recent years, the FAMU partnership in the joint college has begun to pay off for FCAAP as well. Since joint-appointed engineering faculty and their graduate and undergraduate students from both FAMU and FSU work and learn at the center, grants through the HBCU have started to enhance the facility through enhancements and operating expense reallocations. This development opens more bandwidth for future operational and infrastructure expansions.

Leading-Edge Research: Major Federal Investments Drive Innovation

AEROMORPH Center of Excellence

The MAE department recently secured several significant grants, including $5 million that helped launch a university-led AEROMORPH Center of Excellence funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).

“A little over two years ago, we received a joint grant with the University of Florida from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research,” said Cummins Professor William Oates. “It started with an idea to look at sensors, extreme environments and high-speed aerodynamic applications and turned into something much bigger.”

The consortium allows students, post-docs and faculty to interact with AFRL engineers and scientists to develop technologies for next-generation high-speed flight vehicles.

“There’s a group at Wright Patterson and Eglin collaborating with us on advanced sense-assess-respond functionalities for autonomous aircraft systems,” Oates said. “They are investigating something called physical reservoir computing, where instead of doing artificial intelligence on a computer, you integrate it into a structure. You can put it in the skin of an aircraft and make the aircraft aware of its environment so it can autonomously navigate.”

Hyper-Velocity AFRL Research

Kumar and his team received a $4 million grant from AFRL to establish hyper-velocity research capabilities. This funding will advance air and space vehicle technology and support experimental and computational progress.

“The objective is to develop technologies for next-generation vehicles and to train students in research areas of national interest,” Kumar said.

This grant enables the department to push the boundaries of hypersonic flow diagnostics, invest in cutting-edge equipment and explore new frontiers at ever-higher Mach numbers.

“Hypersonic research is the crucial need in the aerospace industry today,” Kumar said. These advances build on decades of pioneering work within the department.

CISCOR Center: Robotics for Extreme Environments

Jonathan Clark, professor and director of the Center for Intelligent, Systems, Control, and Robotics (CISCOR), is collaborating with mechanical engineering researcher Camilo Ordóñez on underwater robots, funded by a $1.05 million grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to explore the benthic region of the sea floor.

Clark is also involved with a project funded by NASA that examines the development of rovers with the unique ability to traverse lunar terrain.

“We developed a legged platform that can move through fine, powdery lunar regolith, climb steep slopes and walk on the terrain efficiently,” Clark said.

In another project, Associate Professor Christian Hubicki received a grant from L3Harris to develop a hybrid leg/wheeled robot for exploration and IED removal.

“Christian and I are working on new ideas to create robots that can go over rough terrains and reach difficult spots where IEDs might be hiding or hard to reach,” Clark said.

Professor Carl Moore is part of a National Science Foundation-sponsored engineering research center, Human Augmentation via Dexterity (HAND) and that involves five partner universities, including FAMU.

HAND is developing advanced robotic hands that can work alongside humans in real-world settings. The center’s goal is to create versatile robot hands that are easy to use right out of the box, equipped with AI-powered capabilities that improve over time.

These systems feature intuitive controls that workers can operate immediately, making robotic assistance more accessible across industries and in everyday circumstances.

“We want to develop low-cost test beds for teaching and training people dexterity and robotic dexterity,” Moore said. “The idea is to get platforms that don’t cost hundreds and thousands of dollars in people’s hands.”

Computer Modeling: Digital Twins Enable Virtual Aerospace Testing

Several faculty members focus on the computational aspects of aerospace research. Associate Professor Unnikrishnan Sasidharan Nair uses numerical simulations to study aero-propulsion problems, including supersonic inlets and exhaust plumes of high-speed aircraft. His research expands to other fields, like aeroacoustics, noise propagation and hypersonic transition.

“Some things cannot always be done in the wind tunnels,” Nair said. “That’s where computational studies come into the picture.”

Nair and others digitize the tunnel to set up a virtual model that can be simulated. They create something called a digital twin of the tunnel-model system, and it helps them use mathematical equations to solve for millions and billions of spatial features of the flow field around an aircraft to understand what’s happening.

Sustainable Aviation: Zero-Emissions Aircraft Development

Along with several colleagues at the joint college and other commercial and academic partners, Professor Juan Ordóñez is working on a NASA ULI (University Leadership Initiative) grant to develop concepts for an integrated zero emissions aircraft that uses liquid hydrogen both as fuel and as coolant for components of the power train.

His research targets thermal management solutions for advanced power systems and the optimization of renewable energy conversion processes. Thermal management plays an important enabling role in aerospace systems.

“For example, we need innovative thermal management solutions to use large (megawatt-scale) fuel cell systems for commercial aircraft. Renewable energy processes are integral to space exploration. In this context, the new MAE designation reflects well our research direction,” Ordóñez said.

Ultimately, Ordóñez wants to work on projects that have potential to bring innovations to the energy conversion systems we use as a society and at a global scale.

While aerospace applications drive the department’s new identity, the transformation also reflects decades of materials science excellence that underpins advanced aerospace technologies.

The department is home to Professor David Larbalestier and other internationally recognized leaders in superconducting materials, advanced microscopy and materials characterization and more, representing the department’s deep expertise in developing the fundamental materials that enable next-generation propulsion systems, lightweight structures and high-performance aerospace components.

This foundation of materials science with aerospace engineering creates a powerful research ecosystem where fundamental material innovations directly address critical challenges in extreme flight environments, from hypersonic thermal management to advanced electromagnetic systems.

InSPIRE Center: Strategic Regional Partnership for Aerospace Manufacturing

The Institute for Strategic Partnerships in Research and Education (InSPIRE) is an FSU initiative designed to establish a new aerospace and advanced manufacturing hub in Bay County, Florida. The institute is designed to support workforce development, national defense needs and economic growth in the Florida Panhandle. The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is an InSPIRE strategic partner, serving as an academic hub for faculty and researchers. Eventually, Bay County graduate students will earn advanced aerospace and manufacturing engineering degrees through the joint college while working at the InSPIRE facility.

Farrukh Alvi, a Don Fuqua Eminent Scholar, professor of mechanical engineering and the Senior Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation at Florida State University, is the founding director of FCAAP and played a key role in launching InSPIRE.

Combined, the new degree offerings and the InSPIRE center will only heighten the department’s impact, Kumar said.

Collaboration as the Key to Success

“The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering stands out for its joint structure, drawing students and faculty from both Florida A&M University and Florida State University,” Kumar said, noting that students from both institutions work together in labs and multicultural settings.

This tradition of collaboration extends beyond the institutional partnership to encompass computational and experimental faculty teams, as well as the overlap in mechanical, aerospace and materials science engineering.

The department’s interdisciplinary approach has been foundational to its research centers and laboratories, creating an integrated ecosystem where diverse expertise converges on complex aerospace challenges. Kumar said this collaborative framework, built over decades, formed the essential foundation for the aerospace redesignation and continues to drive the department’s research success.

The commitment to student development remains central to this collaborative mission.

“We are dedicated to hands-on research training and professional development for students,” Chiang Shih, professor and director of the AME Center, said. “Our role is to prepare them for work with organizations like NASA. In the past four years alone, over 28 students have interned there.”

This partnership model extends well beyond the two universities, encompassing a broad network of academic and industry collaborators that amplifies the department’s research capabilities and impact.

“We continue to collaborate with University of Florida, University of Central Florida, Ohio State University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and others, because it’s helpful,” Kumar explains. “We cannot do everything at one institution, but because of these collaborative efforts, we have been very successful.”

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Inside millions of stomachs around the country are tiny corkscrew-shaped bacteria called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). More than 13% of Americans carry this unwelcome guest, which can cause serious health issues, including painful ulcers and cancer.

A National Science Foundation-funded study from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering will examine how H. pylori navigate through the thick, gel-like materials found in human stomachs, research that could help develop methods to hamper the microorganisms and prevent the diseases they cause.

“H. pylori is the only bacteria that survives in the acidic environment of the stomach,” said project researcher Hadi Mohammadigoushki, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. “They are able to penetrate the protective gastric mucus layer because of the way they swim.”

By studying the locomotion of these organisms, scientists can innovate new treatments for infections and potentially strengthen the mucus barrier against bacteria.

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