New Faculty — Year 2013-14

Assistant Professor
PhD (2007), Cornell University

Research Interests: Bone mechanics, bone-vascular interactions, aging, fracture, stroke, exercise and aerobic metabolism

Cole received a BME in mechanical engineering in 2001 from Auburn University. She was named the Outstanding Co-op Student of the Year in 2000 for her work experience in manufacturing. She received an MS in 2004 and a PhD in 2007 in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, where she specialized in the biomechanics of aging human bone. She was a postdoctoral research fellow in chemistry at the University of Michigan and was awarded a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award in 2008, 2009 and 2010. She recently completed a second postdoctoral fellowship in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Michigan. Cole has extensive experience in whole bone and tissue mechanics, tissue composition, cellular (osteoblast) activity, and bone imaging and diagnostics.

The overall goal of Cole’s research is to improve current strategies for treating bone loss with aging, disease (e.g., cardiomyopathies, diabetes), and other conditions such as stroke by examining bone-vascular interactions and their influence on bone mechanics and bone cell function. Specifically, her lab is focused on developing imaging protocols to characterize changes in bone and vascular morphology and structure, monitoring activity in bone and vascular cells, and exploring potential mechanisms for these changes using animal models. Understanding more about the effects of bone-vascular interactions on bone properties and how they are altered with various conditions and treatments will provide insight into better therapeutic strategies to minimize bone loss and maintain skeletal integrity.

• Cole JH and van der Meulen MCH (2011). “Whole Bone Mechanics and Bone Quality.” Clin Orthop Relat Res 469:2139-2149.
• Cole JH, Dowthwaite J, Scerpella TA, van der Meulen MCH (2009). “Correcting fan-beam magnification in clinical densitometry scans of growing subjects.” J Clin Densitom 12(3):322-329.
• Schulmerich MV, Cole JH, Kreider JM, Esmonde-White F, Dooley KA, Goldstein SA, Morris MD (2009). “Transcutaneous Raman spectroscopy of murine bone in vivo.” Appl Spectrosc 63(3): 286-295.
• Schulmerich MV, Cole JH, Dooley KA, Morris MD, Kreider JM, Goldstein SA, Srinivasan S, Pogue BW (2008). “Noninvasive Raman tomographic imaging of canine bone tissue.” J Biomed Opt 13(2):020506.
• Cole JH, Scerpella TA, van der Meulen MCH (2005) “Fan-beam densitometry in the growing skeleton: Are we measuring what we think we are?” J Clin Densitom 8(1):57-64.

Associate Professor
PhD (2006), Arizona State University

Research Interests: Neural-machine interface for wearable robotics; modeling and analysis of neuromuscular control of movement; and intelligent control of therapeutic robots, orthotics and prosthetics

Huang received a BS from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China and MS and PhD degrees from Arizona State University. She was a postdoctoral research associate in the Center for Bionic Medicine at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Prior to joining the NC State faculty, she was an assistant professor from 2008 to 2012 and an associate professor from 2012 to 2013 at the University of Rhode Island, both in biomedical engineering. She has received the Delsys Prize for Innovation in Electromyography, the Mary E. Switzer Fellowship with the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She is a senior member of IEEE and member of the Society for Neuroscience.

Huang’s research interests lie in rehabilitation engineering and neural engineering. Her research covers the investigation of basic science, engineering development and clinical evaluation. The ongoing projects in her laboratory include the study of gait and balance in lower limb amputees, development of shared control for prostheses and exoskeletons, development of a safety system for artificial legs, and building foundations for clinical use of neurally controlled prosthetic arms.

• H. Huang, F. Zhang, L. Hargrove, D. Rogers, K. Englehart, “Continuous Locomotion Mode Identification for Prosthetic Legs based on Neuromuscular-Mechanical Fusion,” IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, 58(1), pp. 2867-75, 2011.
• F. Zhang, S.E. D’Andrea, M.J. Nunnery, S. Kay, H. Huang. “Towards design of a stumble detector for artificial legs.” IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng, Vol. 19(5): 567-77, 2011.
• H. Huang, T.A. Kuiken, and R.D. Lipschutz, “A strategy for identifying locomotion modes using surface electromyography,” IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, vol. 56, pp. 65-73, 2009.
• H. Huang, P. Zhou, G. Li, and T. A. Kuiken, “An analysis of EMG electrode configuration for targeted muscle reinnervation based neural machine interface,” IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng, vol. 16, pp. 37-45, 2008.
• H. Huang, S. L. Wolf, and J. He, “Recent developments in biofeedback for neuromotor rehabilitation,” J Neuroeng Rehabil, vol. 3, pp. 11, 2006.

Lampe Distinguished Professor
D.Phil. (1997), Oxford University; D.Sc. (2000) Oxford University

Research Interests: Microfluidics, biomaterials, surface modification, tissue on chip, diagnostics, biosensors, nanotechnology and bioanalytical optics

Ligler joined NC State after 28 years at the Naval Research Laboratory, where she was Senior Scientist for Biosensors and Biomaterials. She is a member and past chair of the Bioengineering Section of the National Academy of Engineering. Currently working in the fields of biosensors, biomaterials, and microfluidics, she has also performed research in biochemistry, immunology, and proteomics. She has more than 350 full-length publications and patents, which have led to 11 commercial biosensor products and have been cited more than 8,200 times. She is the winner of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Medal, the National Drug Control Policy Technology Transfer Award, the Chemical Society Hillebrand Award, the Navy Merit Award, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Technology Transfer Award, three NRL Edison Awards for Patent of the Year, the Furman University Bell Tower and Distinguished Alumni of the 20th Century Awards, and the national Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Outstanding Achievement in Science Award.

She serves as an associate editor of analytical chemistry and on editorial/advisory boards for Biosensors & Bioelectronics, Analytical Bioanalytical Chemistry, Sensors, Open Optics, and Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. Elected an SPIE Fellow in 2000 and a Fellow of AIMBE in 2011, she also serves on the organizing committee for the World Biosensors Congress and the permanent steering committee for Europt(r)odes, the European Conference on Optical Sensors. In 2003, she was awarded the Homeland Security Award (Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Field) by the Christopher Columbus Foundation and the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Senior Professional by President Bush. In 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Professional by President Obama.

• Boyd, D.A., A.R. Shields, P.B. Howell, and F.S. Ligler (2013) “Design and fabrication of uniquely shaped thiol-ene microfibers using a two-stage hydrodynamic focusing design.” Lab Chip, DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50413A.
• Verbarg, J., W. D. Plath, L.C. Shriver-Lake, P.B. Howell, J.S. Erickson, J.P. Golden, and F.S. Ligler (2013) “Catch and release: Integrated system for multiplexed detection of bacteria.” Anal. Chem. 85, 4944-4950.
• Shriver-Lake, L.C., J.P. Golden, L. Bracaglia, and F.S. Ligler (2013) “Simultaneous assay for ten bacteria and toxins in spiked clinical samples using a microflow cytometer.” Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 405, 5611-5614.

Assistant Professor
PhD (2011), University of Notre Dame

Research Interests: Coastal hydrodynamics, large-scale modeling of coastal hazards, finite elements and high-performance computing

Dietrich received three degrees from the University of Oklahoma before moving to the University of Notre Dame for his PhD in civil engineering, studying with Dr. Joannes Westerink. After leaving Notre Dame, he worked as a research associate for three years at the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dietrich has developed and validated high-resolution computational models of hurricane waves and storm surge along the Gulf Coast, and these models have been used for levee design by the US Army Corps of Engineers and for floodplain risk assessment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He has also applied these models in an operational framework to forecast storms including Hurricane Isaac, which occured in 2012, as well as oil transport following the BP spill in 2010.

• JC Dietrich, et al. (2012). “Performance of the Unstructured-Mesh, SWAN+ADCIRC Model in Computing Hurricane Waves and Surge.” Journal of Scientific Computing, 52(2), 468-497, DOI:10.1007/s10915-011-9555-6.
• JC Dietrich, et al. (2012). “Surface Trajectories of Oil Transport along the Northern Coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.” Continental Shelf Research, 41(1), 17-47, DOI:10.1016/j.csr.2012.03.015.
• JC Dietrich, et al. (2011). “Hurricane Gustav (2008) Waves and Storm Surge: Hindcast, Validation and Synoptic Analysis in Southern Louisiana.” Monthly Weather Review, 139(8), 2488-2522, DOI:10.1175/2011MWR3611.1.
• JC Dietrich, et al. (2011). “Modeling Hurricane Waves and Storm Surge using Integrally-Coupled, Scalable Computations.” Coastal Engineering, 58, 45-65, DOI:10.1016/j.coastaleng.2010.08.001.
• JC Dietrich, et al. (2010). “A High-Resolution Coupled Riverine Flow, Tide, Wind, Wind Wave and Storm Surge Model for Southern Louisiana and Mississippi: Part II – Synoptic Description and Analysis of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.” Monthly Weather Review, 138(2), 378-404, DOI:10.1175/ 2009MWR2907.1.

Research Assistant Professor and Laboratory Manager
PhD (2012), North Carolina State University

Research Interests: Precast and prestressed structural concrete systems; large-scale structural testing; composite sandwich structures; and applications of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) in civil infrastructure

Lucier is a research assistant professor in structural engineering and also serves as manager of the Constructed Facilities Laboratory at NC State. He specializes in structural engineering and is experienced in the areas of large-scale experimental design, servo-hydraulic control, laboratory instrumentation, data acquisition, and project management.

Lucier received a BS in construction engineering and management in 2004 and MS and PhD degrees in structural engineering in 2006 and 2012, respectively, all from NC State. His doctoral work focused on torsion and shear in the end regions of precast/prestressed concrete L-spandrels. He has conducted additional research on many topics related to precast/prestressed concrete construction, including wall panels, ledge-punching shear, and dapped-end beams.

• Lucier, G., Walter, C., Rizkalla, S., Zia, P. and Klein, G., “Development of a Rational Design Methodology for Precast Slender Spandrel Beams: Part 2, Analysis and Design Guidelines,” PCI Journal, Fall 2011, Vol. 56, No. 4.
• Lucier, G., Walter, C., Rizkalla, S., Zia, P. and Klein, G., “Development of a Rational Design Methodology for Precast Slender Spandrel Beams: Part 1, Experimental Results,” PCI Journal, Spring 2011, Vol. 56, No. 2.
• Frankl, B., Lucier, G., Hassan, T. and Rizkalla, S., “Behavior of Precast, Prestressed Concrete Sandwich Wall Panels Reinforced with CFRP Grid,” PCI Journal, Spring 2011, Vol. 56, No. 2, pp. 42-54.
• Hassan, T., Lucier, G., and Rizkalla, S., “Splice Strength of Large Diameter, High Strength Steel Reinforcing Bars,” Construction and Building Materials, July 2011, Vol. 26, Issue 1, pp. 216-225.
• Rizkalla, S., Lucier, G. and Dawood, M., “Innovative use of FRP for the Precast Industry,” Advances in Structural Engineering, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2012.

Research Assistant Professor
PhD (2008), Purdue University

Research Interests: Impacts of climate and land use changes on hydrologic cycle, large-scale ocean- atmosphere-land surface interactions to improve streamflow and soil moisture forecasting, and surface water and groundwater sustainability under climate change and human interventions

Sinha received his BS in agricultural engineering from Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology in Udaipur, India, and his MS in water resources engineering (civil) from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, India. He received his PhD in hydrology from Purdue University. Before joining the faculty at NC State, Sinha worked as a postdoctoral scientist at Arizona State University and NC State.

Presently he studies the role of land-surface conditions and climate forecasts in developing streamflow forecasts, impacts of climate change and anthropogenic interventions on freshwater sustainability, and impacts of climate variability and change on cold season hydrological processes. His research includes analysis of field observations as well as applications of multiple land-surface models and statistical models. Recent funding sources of his research are the National Science Foundation and the North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute.

• Sinha, T., and A. Sankarasubramanian (2013), “Role of initial soil moisture conditions and monthly updated climate forecasts in developing operational streamflow forecasts,” Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1-13, doi:10.5194/hess-17-1-2013.
• Oludhe, C., A. Sankarasubramanian, T. Sinha, N. Devineni, and U. Lall (2013), “Role of Multimodel Climate Forecasts in Improving Water and Energy Management,” Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, in press, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-12-0300.1.
• Sinha, T., and K. A. Cherkauer (2010), “Impacts of future climate change on soil frost in the midwestern United States,” Journal of Geophysical Research, 115, D08105, 1-16, doi:10.1029/2009JD012188.
• Sabo, J. L., T. Sinha, L. Bowling, G. Schoups, K. Cherkauer, P. Fuller, W. Graf, J. Hopmans, J.Kominoski, S. Trimble, W. Wallender, R. Webb, E. Wohl (2010), “Reclaiming sustainable watersheds in the Cadillac Desert,” Proc. of National Acad. of Sci., 107(50), 21263-21269.
• Sinha, T., K. A. Cherkauer and V. Mishra (2010), “Impacts of historic climate variability on seasonal soil frost in the Midwestern U.S.,” Journal of Hydrometeorology, 11, 229-251.

Assistant Professor
PhD (2009), University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, reinforcement learning, cognitive modeling, and educational data mining; human-computer interaction: intelligent tutoring systems, educational games and natural language tutoring systems; cognitive and learning sciences: transfer, preparation for future learning, metacognition and cognitive factors

Chi received her BE in information science and technology from Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China. She received her MS and PhD degrees from the Intelligent Systems Program at the University of Pittsburgh. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Machine Learning Department in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and then in the Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute at Stanford University.

Chi’s research sits at the intersection of machine learning and data mining, learning technology, learning science and cognitive science. She is particularly interested in applying various data mining and machine learning algorithms to find meaningful patterns from various human-computer interaction datasets. She has received the Best Paper Award at the Intelligent Tutoring Systems Conference and the James Chen Best Student Paper Award at the User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization Conference in 2010. She also received the Best Student Paper Award at the 2008 Intelligent Tutoring Systems Conference.

• Chi, M., K. VanLehn, D. J. Litman, and P. W. Jordan (2012). “An evaluation of pedagogical tutorial tactics for a natural language tutoring system: A reinforcement learning approach.” In: International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education.
• Chi, M., K. VanLehn, D. J. Litman, and P. W. Jordan (2011). “Empirically evaluating the application of reinforcement learning to the induction of effective and adaptive pedagogical strategies.” In: User Model. User-Adapt. Interact. 21.1-2, pp. 137–180.
• Chi, M. and K. VanLehn (2010). “Meta-cognitive strategy instruction in intelligent tutoring systems: How, when, and why.” In: Journal of Educational Technology and Society 13.1, pp. 25–39.
• Chi, M., K. VanLehn, and D. J. Litman (2010). “Do Micro-Level Tutorial Decisions Matter: Applying Reinforcement Learning to Induce Pedagogical Tutorial Tactics.” In: Intelligent Tutoring Systems, 10th International Conference, ITS 2010, Proceedings, Part I. ed. By V. Aleven, J. Kay, and J. Mostow. Vol. 6094. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer, pp. 224–234. [Winner, Best Paper Award.]

Assistant Professor
PhD (2008), Princeton University

Research Interests: Graph algorithms, parallel and high-performance computing, applied structural graph theory, combinatorial scientific computing, and graph embeddings for quantum computing

Sullivan received her BS degrees in applied mathematics and computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, supported as a President’s Scholar. She received her PhD in mathematics from Princeton University, where she held a US Department of Homeland Security Graduate Fellowship and Dissertation Grant. During her tenure at Princeton, she also spent time as a visiting researcher at the Renyi Institute in Budapest, Hungary, and held internships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Microsoft Research’s Theory Group in Redmond, Wash. Prior to joining the NC State faculty, she was a computational mathematician in the Computer Science and Mathematics Division at ORNL, where she was principal investigator on grants from the Department of Energy’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research, DARPA GRAPHS, and ORNL’s LDRD program.

Sullivan’s recent work focuses on integrating tools and techniques from structural graph theory into tools for scalable network analysis. One focus is on elucidating and utilizing tree-like “intermediate scale” structure in complex networks (e.g., hierarchies in biology, hub nodes in social networks, or hyperbolic routing in the Internet) to enable scalable analysis and expand the types of queries possible on massive graphs. This includes developing new algorithms/implementations for solving optimization problems using tree decompositions and dynamic programming on parallel/HPC architectures, integrating structural graph theory constructs with ideas from hyperbolic geometry to define an intermediate scale “skeleton” for networks, and developing approaches to dimensionality reduction that take advantage of network structure and avoid densification of sparse graph data. She also works on designing measures of graph similarity, and mathematical evaluation of random graph generators to improve network modeling.

• A. Adcock, B. D. Sullivan, O. Hernandez, and M. Mahoney. “Evaluating OpenMP Tasking at Scale for the Computation of Graph Hyperbolicity.” International Workshop on OpenMP (IWOMP) 2013, to appear.
• B. D. Sullivan, D. Weerapurage, and C. Groer. “Parallel Algorithms for Graph Optimization using Tree Decompositions.” Proceedings of the International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium Workshops, 2013.
• C. Groer, B. D. Sullivan, and S. Poole. “A Mathematical Analysis of the R-MAT Random Graph Generator.” Networks, 58(3):159–170, 2011.

Research Assistant Professor
National Science Foundation FREEDM Systems Center
PhD (2012), North Carolina State University

Research Interests: The design, fabrication, characterization and analysis of WBG semiconductor (SiC, GaN) devices such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, JFETs, FCDs, BRTs, and JBS, PiN diodes

Sung obtained his PhD in 2012 from NC State under the supervision of Drs. Alex Huang and Jay Baliga. He has more than 10 years of industry and academic experience working on the design and fabrication of power semiconductor devices.

• Sung, W., Van Brunt, E., Baliga, B. J., Huang, A. Q., “A Comparative Study of Gate Structures for 9.4-kV 4H-SiC Normally On Vertical JFETs,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 59, no. 9, pp. 2417-2423, Sept. 2012.
• Sung, W, Van Brunt, E., Baliga, B. J., Huang, A.Q., “A New Edge Termination Technique for High-Voltage Devices in 4H-SiC–Multiple-Floating-Zone Junction Termination Extension,” Electron Device Letters, IEEE, vol. 32, no. 7, pp. 880-882, July 2011.
• Woongje Sung, B. J. Baliga, and A. Q. Huang, “A Novel 4H-SiC Fault Isolation Device with Improved Trade-off between On-state Voltage Drop and Short Circuit SOA,” 2012, Materials Science Forum, 717-720, 1045.
• Woongje Sung, A. Q. Huang, and B. J. Baliga, “A novel 4H-SiC IGBT structure with improved trade-off between short circuit capability and on-state voltage drop,” Proceedings of ISPSD 2010, pp. 217-220, 6-10, June, 2010.
• Woongje Sung, Jun Wang, A. Q. Huang, and B. J. Baliga, “Design and investigation of frequency capability of 15kV 4H-SiC IGBT,” Proceedings of ISPSD 2010, pp. 271-274, 14-18, June, 2009.

Research Associate Professor
National Science Foundation FREEDM Systems Center
PhD (2000), South China University of Technology

Research Interests: Soft-switching power converters, grid-tied inverters, industrial power electronics, and renewable energy power systems

Yu received his MS from the Central China University of Science and Technology and his PhD from the South China University of Technology in 1995 and 2000, respectively, both in mechanical and electrical engineering.

From 2006 to 2013, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher, research scientist and research assistant professor at the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech.

He currently studies high-frequency solid-state transformers with an advanced soft-switching technique, ultra high efficiency inverter, high-voltage power conversion, distributed energy storage devices, and green energy grid infrastructure.

• W. Yu, J.S. Lai, W-H Lai, H. Wan, “Hybrid Resonant and PWM Converter With High Efficiency and Full Soft-Switching Range,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 27, no. 12, pp. 4925, 4933, Dec. 2012.
• W. Yu, J.-S. Lai, H. Ma, and C. Zheng, “High Efficiency DC-DC Converter with Twin-Bus for Dimmable LED Lighting,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 26, no. 8, pp. 2095-2100, Aug. 2011.
• W. Yu, J.-S. Lai, Q. Hao, C. Hutchens, G. Lisi, and A. Djabbari, “High efficiency MOSFET inverter with H6-type configuration for non-isolated photovoltaic AC module applications,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 1253-1260, April 2011.
• W. Yu, J.S. Lai, and S.-Y. Park, “An Improved Zero-Voltage-Switching Inverter Using Two Coupled Magnetics in One Resonant Pole,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 952-961, Apr. 2010.
• W. Yu, H. Qian, and J.-S. Lai, “Design of High-Efficiency Bidirectional DC-DC Converter and High-Precision Efficiency Measurement,” IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 650-658, Mar. 2010.

Associate Professor
PhD (2006), University of California, Berkeley

Research Interests: Predictive models of health outcomes, application of stochastic optimization in production and service systems with emphasis on health care services, modeling marketing and operations interface, and analysis of queuing systems

Mayorga received her PhD in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining the NC State faculty, she was on the faculty at Clemson University in the Department of Industrial Engineering for seven years.

She has authored more than 40 publications in archival journals and refereed proceedings. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, among other sources. She is a member of INFORMS and the Institute of Industrial Engineers and area editor for the journals Health Systems, IIE Transactions and IIE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering.

Mayorga’s main research interests can be divided into two areas: predictive models of health and economic outcomes and optimal resource allocation in emergency medical service (EMS) systems. In the first area, she combines statistical methods and simulation to make predictions about the progression and impact of a disease (e.g., diabetes) or behavior (e.g., drinking during pregnancy) at the population level and over long periods of time. Most recent efforts focus on assessing the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening by considering patient choice and adherence to screening options. In the second area, she focuses on optimally (or near optimally) locating and dispatching EMS vehicles while introducing some of the complexities of real-world systems often overlooked in the literature; for example, revised decisions given that new information becomes available on-scene.

• Mayorga ME, Reifsnider OS, Neyens D, Gebregziabher M and Hunt KJ, 2013. “Projected Estimates of Pre-Pregnancy and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in the US: 1980 to 2008.” In Press, PLOS ONE.
• Mayorga ME, Bandara D and McLay LA, 2013. “Districting and Dispatching Polices to Improve the Efficiency of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Systems.” IIE Transactions in Healthcare Systems Engineering, Vol 3 (1), 39-56.
• McLay LA and Mayorga ME. 2013. A dispatching model for server-to-customer systems that balances efficiency and equity. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Vol 15 (2), 205-220.

Assistant Professor of Personalized Medicine
PhD (2011), University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests: Decision making under uncertainty, optimization of service systems, particularly in health care; vaccine design and supply chain; public health policy making, public service delivery, disease management and treatment scheduling; optimization of parameters in bioinformatics models

Ozaltin joined the faculty at NC State in August 2013 as a Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire in personalized medicine. He is an assistant professor in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and part of the Healthcare Systems Engineering group. His methods include integer programming, combinatorial optimization, stochastic programming, bilevel programming, quadratic programming, and decomposition algorithms for large-scale mathematical programs.

Prior to arriving at NC State, Ozaltin was an assistant professor of management sciences at the University of Waterloo in Canada. His publications appeared in top academic journals including Operations Research and Mathematical Programming. He received the distinguished Institute of Industrial Engineers Best Dissertation Award in 2013 for his work to optimize the annual influenza vaccine design. Ozaltin’s formal education began with a BS in industrial engineering from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. He then received his MS and PhD degrees in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

• Ozaltin, O. Y., Prokopyev, O. A., Schaefer, A. J., “Two-stage quadratic integer programs with stochastic right-hand-sides.” Mathematical Programming, 133(1-2):121-158, 2012.
• Ozaltin, O. Y., Prokopyev, O. A., Schaefer, A. J., Roberts, M. S., “Optimizing the Societal Benefits of the Annual Influenza Vaccine: A Stochastic Programming Approach.” Operations Research, 59(5):1131-1143, 2011.
• Ozaltin, O. Y., Hunsaker B., Schaefer, A. J., “Predicting the solution time of branch-and-bound algorithms for mixed-integer programs,” INFORMS Journal on Computing, 23(3):392-403, 2011.
• Ozaltin, O. Y., Prokopyev, O. A., Schaefer, A. J., “The bilevel knapsack problem with stochastic right-hand sides,” Operations Research Letters, 38(4):328-333, 2010.

Associate Professor of Regenerative Medicine
PhD (2011), Drexel University

Research Interests: Automated production of 3D in vitro tissue models, cell expansion-based bioreactors, real-time sensors for biometrology and biomedical applications of additive manufacturing

Starly joined the faculty at NC State in August 2013 as a Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire in regenerative medicine. He directs the Laboratory for Engineering Biological Tissue Systems engaged in the scale-up automated production of engineered tissue systems for pharmaceutical drug screening, toxicity testing and regenerative medicine applications. As part of the regenerative medicine cluster, his work will involve building production platforms for engineered biological tissue leveraging advances in computer-aided tissue scaffold production, bioprinting, intelligent machines, non-invasive sensors and advanced bioreactors to achieve the goal of “tissue engineering on-demand.”

Starly has received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award for research in multi-scale biological tissue scaffold systems built from additive manufacturing platforms. He has published more than 26 journal publications in the fields of design/manufacturing, customized biomedical implants, biofabrication and tissue engineering. For his contributions, he was awarded the 2011 Society of Manufacturing Engineering Young Manufacturing Engineer Award. He has supervised the research of 15 MS and three PhD students. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses related to engineering mechanics, digitally enabled design and manufacturing and regenerative medicine manufacturing. Starly’s formal education began with a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Kerala in India and then a PhD in mechanical engineering from Drexel University. He then joined the University of Oklahoma to develop additive manufacturing platforms for tissue engineering.

• Lan, S.F., Kehinde T., Zhang X., Schmidtke, D., Khajotia, Sharukh, & Starly, B. (2013) “Controlled Release of Metronidazole from Composite Poly-ε-Caprolactone/Alginate Rings for Dental Implants.” Journal of Dental Materials, 29 (6), 656-659.
• Lan, S.F., & Starly, B. (2011). “Alginate based 3D Hydrogels as an In Vitro Co-Culture Model Platform for the Toxicity Screening of New Chemical Entities.” Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 256, 62–72.
• Padmanabhan, T., Kamaraj V., Magwood, L., & Starly, B. (2011). “Experimental Investigation on the Operating Variables of a Near-Field Electrospinning Process via Response Surface Methodology.” Journal of Manufacturing Processes, 13 (2), 104-112.

Associate Professor
PhD (2004), Purdue University

Research Interests: Materials characterization, functional materials including piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials, mechanics of materials, and ceramic synthesis and properties

Jones received his BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1999 and 2001, respectively, then his PhD in materials engineering in 2004, also from Purdue. He was then awarded an international postdoctoral fellowship from the National Science Foundation, working primarily at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He was an assistant and associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida from 2006 to 2013.

Jones’ research mainly develops structure-property-processing relationships in emerging functional materials through the use of advanced diffraction tools and techniques for in situ characterization. The primary functional materials under investigation include piezoelectric, ferroelectric and multiferroic crystals, thin films, and ceramics, which have applications including but not limited to impact and displacement sensors, actuators, microelectromechanical systems, diesel fuel injectors, vibrational energy harvesting, sonar and ultrasound.

• G. Tutuncu, D. Damjanovic, J. Chen, and J. L. Jones, “Deaging and asymmetric energy landscapes in electrically biased ferroelectrics,” Physical Review Letters, Vol. 108, No. 177601 (2012).
• C. R. Fell, M. Chi, S. Meng, and J. L. Jones, “In Situ X-ray Diffraction Study of the Lithium Excess Layered Oxide Compound Li[Li0.2Ni0.2Mn0.6]O2 During Electrochemical Cycling,” Solid State Ionics, Vol. 207, pp. 44-49 (2012).
• E. Aksel, J. S. Forrester, J. L. Jones, P. A. Thomas, K. Page, and M. R. Suchomel, “Monoclinic crystal structure of polycrystalline Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3,” Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 98, No. 152901 (2011).
• A. Pramanick, D. Damjanovic, J. E. Daniels, J. C. Nino, and J. L. Jones, “Origins of electro-mechanical coupling in polycrystalline ferroelectrics during subcoercive electrical loading,” Journal of the American Ceramic Society(Invited Feature Article), Vol. 94, No. 2, pp. 293-309 (2011).
• J. E. Daniels, W. Jo, J. Rödel, and J. L. Jones, “Electric-field-induced phase transformation at a lead-free morphotropic phase boundary: Case study in a 93%(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 – 7%BaTiO3 piezoelectric ceramic,” Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 95, No. 032904 (2009).

Assistant Professor
PhD (2011), Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Interests: Structural characterization and quantification of structure-property relationships across multiple length scales, statistical analysis of defects and their interactions in polycrystalline materials, and developing inverse design principles for optimizing performance in structural and functional materials

Patala received his B.Tech. in metallurgical and materials engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He received his PhD in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the NC State faculty, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University.

Patala’s research will be focused on developing computational and analytical techniques to quantify the structure-property relationships in complex heterogeneous materials. Specific areas of interest currently include the analysis of interfacial properties, the role of interfaces in influencing the mechanical and transport-related phenomena in structural materials, statistical analysis and characterization of complex microstructures, and reliable reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) porous multi-phase microstructure in battery materials. State-of-the-art experimental techniques to quantify 3D microstructural features are utilized, and these aspects are incorporated into a variety of computational methods to facilitate more accurate modeling of both processing-structure and structure-property relationships.

• S. Patala and C. A. Schuh, “Representation of Single-axis Grain Boundary Functions,” Acta Materialia, Vol. 61, No. 8, pp. 3068-3081, 2013.
• S. Patala, L. D. Marks and M. O. de la Cruz, “Elastic Strain Energy Effects in Faceted Decahedral Nanoparticles,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 117, No. 3, pp. 1485-1494, 2013.
• S. Patala and C. A. Schuh, “Symmetries in the Representation of Grain Boundary-plane Distributions,” Philosophical Magazine, Vol. 93, No. 5, pp. 524-573, 2013.
• S. Patala, J. K. Mason and C. A. Schuh, “Improved Representations of Misorientation Information for Grain Boundary Science and Engineering,” Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 57, No. 8, pp. 1383-1425, 2012.
• S. Patala and C. A. Schuh, “A Continuous and One-to-One Coloring Scheme for Misorientations,” Acta Materialia, Vol. 59, No. 2, pp. 554-562, 2011.

Assistant Professor
PhD (2012), Cornell University

Research Interests: Applications of smart materials and structures to energy harvesting, actuation and control; fluid-structure interaction, aeroelasticity and unsteady aerodynamics; and bio-inspired devices and systems

Bryant holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Bucknell University, where he graduated summa cum laude in 2007. He earned his master’s degree in 2011 and PhD in 2012, both in mechanical engineering from Cornell University. Prior to joining the faculty at NC State, Bryant worked as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at Cornell and was the recipient of an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowship.

His research interests encompass topics in smart materials and structures, fluid-structure interaction, ambient energy harvesting, and actuation systems. Of particular interest are novel, multidisciplinary approaches guided by bio-inspired designs. Recent areas of study include energy harvesting using structures that flap or flutter due to nonlinear aeroelastic vibration, unsteady aerodynamics of oscillating wings, and wake-structure interactions of groups of deformable bodies in a flowing fluid. Bryant also studies actuation of walking- and climbing-legged robots using lightweight and compliant fluidic artificial muscles. These areas are investigated using a combination of analytic and experimental approaches with an emphasis on reduced order and semi-empirical modeling that seeks to enable system design by capturing the salient physical phenomena.

• Bryant, M., Gomez, J. C., and Garcia, E., “Low Order Aerodynamic Modeling of Flapping Wing Energy Harvesting at Low Reynolds Number,” AIAA Journal (In Press).
• Shafer, M. W., Bryant, M., and Garcia, E., “Designing Maximum Power Output into Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters,” Smart Materials and Structures Journal, Vol. 21, 2012.
• Bryant, M., Mahtani, R. L., and Garcia, E., “Wake Synergies Enhance Performance in Aeroelastic Vibration Energy Harvesting,” Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures, Vol. 23, pp. 1131-1141, 2012.
• Bryant, M., Wolff, E., and Garcia, E., “Aeroelastic Flutter Energy Harvester Design: The Sensitivity of the Driving Instability to System Parameters,” Smart Materials and Structures Journal, Vol. 20, 2011.
• Bryant, M. and Garcia, E., “Modeling and Testing of a Novel Aeroelastic Flutter Energy Harvester,” ASME Journal of Vibrations and Acoustics, Vol. 133(1), 011010, 2011.

Associate Professor
PhD (2005), Stanford University

Research Interests: Dynamics and neural control of the musculoskeletal system, upper-limb biomechanics and orthopaedic rehabilitation, computational dynamic simulation of movement, and musculoskeletal imaging

Saul received her Sc.B. in engineering from Brown University. She received her MS and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. She subsequently held a research associate position in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford. Prior to joining the NC State faculty, she was an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and orthopaedic surgery at the Wake Forest School of Medicine and the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences.

In Saul’s research, she applies mechanical engineering techniques to improve treatment outcomes for neuromusculoskeletal disorders of the upper limb across the lifespan, using both computational dynamic simulation and experimental methods, including imaging, motion capture and functional assessments of musculoskeletal performance. She uses computational simulation of muscle mechanics and the dynamics of functional movement to compare treatment options and predict functional outcomes. She also explores muscle control strategies and movement compensations exhibited by healthy and impaired patients to provide a foundation for clinical practitioners to optimize rehabilitation for their patients. Recently, her work has focused on shoulder dyskinesis due to rotator cuff impairment in older adults and peripheral nerve injury clinical applications.

• Crouch DL, Plate JF, Li Zhongyu, Saul KR. “Biomechanical contributions of posterior deltoid and teres minor in the context of axillary nerve injury: a computational study.” Journal of Hand Surgery. 2013; 38(2): 241-249. PMID: 23294649.
• Vidt ME, Daly M, Miller ME, Davis CC, Marsh AP, Saul KR. “Characterizing upper limb muscle volume and strength in older adults: a comparison with young adults.” Journal of Biomechanics. 2012; 45: 334-41.PMID: 22047782.
• Saul KR, Hayon S, Smith TL, Tuohy CJ, Mannava S. “Postural dependence of passive tendon in the supraspinatus following rotator cuff repair: a simulation analysis.” Clinical Biomechanics. 2011: 26, 804-810. PMID: 21596463.
• Holzbaur KRS, Murray WM, Gold GE, Delp SL. “Upper limb muscle volumes in adult subjects.” Journal of Biomechanics. 2007; 40: 742-749. PMID: 17241636.
• Holzbaur KRS, Murray WM, Delp SL. “A model of the upper extremity for simulating musculoskeletal surgery and analyzing neuromuscular control.” Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2005; 33: 829-840. PMID: 16078622.

Professor
PhD (1991), D.Sc. (1994), Moscow Power Engineering Institute

Research Interests: Multiphase flow systems with phase change and their application in nuclear power plant safety analysis, and severe accident risk assessment and management

Dinh has more than 20 years of R&D and engineering experience in areas of nuclear reactor thermal hydraulics and nuclear power safety. Prior to joining the faculty at NC State, he worked at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he was a Laboratory Fellow, director of the Center of Research and Education on Safety and Licensing at the Institute for Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, and academic dean for the “Modeling, Experimentation and Validation” summer school. Prior to INL, Dinh was Chair Professor of Nuclear Power Safety at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, and performed research at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

His research is focused on modeling and analysis of multi-phase thermal-fluid phenomena of importance to nuclear reactor design and safety. Of particular interest are physics and prediction of boiling heat transfer, critical heat flux, and other intense multi-phase interactions that govern nuclear reactor safety margins. Dinh’s group is developing a laboratory to support research projects on two-phase thermal-hydraulics modeling and simulation and severe accident risk assessment and management.

• T.N. Dinh, M.J. Konovalikhin, and B.R. Sehgal, “Core Melt Spreading on a Reactor Containment Floor,” Progress in Nuclear Energy, 36:(4), pp. 405-468, 2000.
• T.N. Dinh, and T.G. Theofanous, “Nucleation Phenomena in Boiling,” Multiphase Science and Technology. 15(1-4), pp. 349-363, 2003.
• T.N. Dinh, R.R. Nourgaliev, and T.G. Theofanous, “On the Multiscale Treatment of Multifluid Flow,” Multiphase Science and Technology. 15(1-4), pp. 275-288, 2003.
• T.G. Theofanous and T.N. Dinh, “Integration of Multi-Phase Science and Technology with Risk Management in Nuclear Power Reactors: Application of the Risk Oriented Accident Analysis Methodology to the Economic, Simplified Boiling Water Reactor Design,” Multiphase Science and Technology, v. 20(2), pp. 91-223, 2008.
• C.T. Tran and T.N. Dinh, “The Effective Convectivity Model for Simulation of Melt Pool Heat Transfer in a Light Water Reactor Pressure Vessel Lower Head. Part I: Physical Processes, Modeling and Model Implementation,” pp. 849-859, 2009. “Part II: Model Assessment and Application,” Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 51, No. 8, pp. 860-871, 2009.

Director of Engineering Education
Office of Academic Affairs, College of Engineering
Teaching Assistant Professor
Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education, College of Education
PhD (2008), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Research Interests: Self-efficacy, motivation and persistence of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields; and K-12 teacher professional development in STEM

Ballard received her BS in biological engineering from North Carolina State University. She received her MS and PhD degrees in biological systems engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Prior to joining NC State, she was a faculty member in the Department of Food Science at Purdue University, with a primary focus on educational scholarship in the area of food process engineering/food science.

Ballard will provide leadership in engineering education initiatives that facilitate partnerships and collaboration among faculty in the College of Engineering and the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education within the College of Education. Presently, she is studying the impact of student success programs for women and underrepresented minorities on their retention, self-efficacy, motivation and persistence in STEM fields. She also teaches courses in the first-year engineering program and in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education.

• Liceaga, A., Ballard, T. and Skura, B. 2011. “Incorporating a modified problem-based learning exercise in a traditional lecture and lab-based dairy products course.” Journal of Food Science Education. 10(2): 19-22.
• Ballard, T., Mallikarjunan, P., Zhou, K. and O’Keefe, S. “Microwave-assisted extraction of phenolic antioxidants from peanut skins.” 2010. Food Chemistry. 120(4): 1185-1192.
• Ballard, T.S., Mallikarjunan, P., Zhou, K. and O’Keefe, S. 2009. “Optimizing the extraction of phenolic antioxidants from peanut skins using response surface methodology.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 57(8): 3064-3072.
• Ballard, T.S. and Mallikarjunan, P. 2006. “The effect of edible coatings and pressure frying using nitrogen gas on the quality of breaded fried chicken nuggets.” Journal of Food Science. 71(3): S259-S264.
• Ballard, T., Mallikarjunan, P. and Duncan, S.E. 2007. “Consumer assessment of crispness of pressure fried chicken nuggets using nitrogen gas.” Journal of Foodservice. 18(1): 1-6.

Associate Professor
Co-Director, Textile Protection and Comfort Center
PhD (1997), Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Research Interests: Human performance in protective clothing systems based on studying technical aspects of clothing systems and textile material performance measures and analyzing their impact on human physiology, psychology and ergonomics

From 1997 to 2013, DenHartog has been working in various formal and informal roles as senior scientist, project manager and coordinator of the R&D efforts in personal protective clothing and equipment at TNO Defense, Safety and Security in the Netherlands, an independent not-for-profit contract research organization. In this role, he combined human factors expertise (ergonomics, physiology, psychology) with the available technical expertise on ballistic and chemical/biological protection, textiles, sensor technology and other technology areas to apply research to solve questions and problems for customers. The main customers were the Netherlands and foreign armed forces, firefighters, law enforcement and athletes.

From August 2005 to August 2006, DenHartog worked as an exchange scientist in the Individual Protection Directorate of Natick Soldier Center, a US Army lab that performs R&D on personal protective clothing and equipment for soldiers.

His main research focus at NC State will be to combine basic science concepts and new technologies into protective clothing systems and analyzing and evaluating their added values for workers who need to perform in hazardous conditions.

• G Havenith, I Holmér, EA DenHartog, KC Parsons, “Clothing evaporative heat resistance — proposal for improved representation in standards and models,” 1999, Annals of Occupational Hygiene 43 (5), 339-346.
• J Malchaire, A Piette, B Kampmann, P Mehnert, HJ Gebhardt, G Havenith, E DenHartog, “Development and validation of the predicted heat strain model,” 2001, Annals of Occupational Hygiene 45 (2), 123-135.
• G Havenith, MG Richards, X Wang, P Bröde, V Candas, E DenHartog, I Holmér, “Apparent latent heat of evaporation from clothing: attenuation and ‘heat pipe’ effects,” 2008, Journal of Applied Physiology 104 (1), 142-149.
• J Malchaire, Q Geng, E DenHartog, G Havenith, I Holmer, A Piette, SL Powell, “Temperature limit values for gripping cold surfaces,” 2002, Annals of Occupational Hygiene 46 (2), 157-163.

Research Assistant Professor
Textile Protection and Comfort Center
PhD (2011), North Carolina State University

Research Interests: Fire protection science, protective clothing, heat/modeling modeling and simulation, structural and wildland firefighting, fire/flame-resistant textiles, instrumented testing technologies, and body heat transfer in active/performance apparel

Hummel received his BS in aerospace engineering from the University of Central Florida in 2007. He received his MS in 2009 and PhD in 2011 in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University. He has worked as a postdoctoral researcher for the Textile Protection and Comfort Center (T-PACC) in the College of Textiles for the past year and a half.

While at T-PACC, Hummel has worked on multiple research projects specific to heat and flame hazards and fire protection textile testing for soldiers, structural firefighters and wildland firefighters. He is currently the co-principal investigator on research to develop a next generation firefighter turnout suit using new material technologies and innovative design concepts to minimize injuries to structural firefighters. His primary research interests revolve around testing and evaluating fire-protective clothing, modeling heat and moisture transport through clothing, and predicting burn injury in the human skin.

Other research interests include developing and evaluating passive and active micro-climate control solutions into garments for improved comfort and athletic performance for everyday clothing.

• Hummel, A., Barker, R., Lyons, K. (2013). “Skin Burn Translation Model for Evaluating Hand Protection in Flash Fire Exposures.” Fire Technology. DOI 10.1007/s10694-013-0336-7.
• Hummel, A., et al. (2012). “Developing a Thermal Sensor for Use in the Fingers of the PyroHands Fire Test System.” Performance of Protective Clothing and Equipment: 9th Volume, Emerging Issues and Technologies. DOI 10.1520/STP104207.
• Hummel, A., et al. (2011). “Development of Instrumented Manikin Hands for Characterizing the Thermal Protective Performance of Gloves in Flash Fire Exposures.” Fire Technology, 47 (3), 615-629.

Research Assistant Professor
PhD (2012), North Carolina State University

Research Interests: Development of CBRN protective equipment from the basic material-level chemical permeation testing to the whole ensemble evaluations with manikins and human test subjects. Analytical method development for toxic industrial chemicals utilizing air sampling, liquid- and solid-phase extractions, and multiple chromatographic techniques

Ormond received his BS in polymer and color chemistry from NC State in 2007 and received his PhD in fiber and polymer science from NC State in 2012 while working in the Textile Protection and Comfort Center (T-PACC), where he also served as a postdoctoral research scholar and manager for the Chemical Protection Laboratory.

During his time at NC State, Ormond has grown the testing capabilities of T-PACC’s Chemical Protection Laboratory by bringing in more analytical techniques and establishing NC State’s Man-In-Simulant-Test (MIST) Facility as one of the most accurate and efficient places in the country to evaluate the protection provided by a whole chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) ensemble on human subjects. After incorporating his PhD research findings on the MIST into the American Society for Testing and Materials International and National Fire Protection Association test standards for first responder equipment, Ormond has begun to assess the validity and procedures used in other standard test methods for evaluating chemical permeation and penetration resistance. He is also actively working with industry manufacturers to design and evaluate the next generation components of CBRN ensembles such as more comfortable footwear with improved durability as well as flame- and chemical-resistant gloves with enhanced tactility and grip for individuals that respond to clandestine laboratories.

• Ormond, R. B., Barker, R., “Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Protective Clothing,” in Protective Clothing: Managing Thermal Stress: 2013.
• Ormond, R. B., Barker, R., Beck, K., Thompson, D., and Deaton, A. S., “Factors Influencing the Uptake Rate of Passive Adsorbent Dosimeters Used in the Man-In-Simulant-Test,” Performance of Protective Clothing and Equipment: Emerging Issues and Technologies, pp. 247-265, DOI: 10.1520/STP 104205, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2012.

Assistant Professor
PhD (2010), Purdue University

Research Interests: Development and application of mass spectrometry methods for the analysis and structural characterization of chemicals of forensic interest, such as dyes, inks, fibers, polymers and drugs; and mass spectrometry, organic synthesis and gas-phase ion chemistry are central tools for the lab

Vinueza’s formal education began with a BS in industrial chemistry and a BS in chemical engineering at El Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. He then earned his PhD in physical organic chemistry from Purdue University, under the mentorship of Professor Hilkka Kenttämaa, where he studied the chemical reactivity of carbon-center tri- and tetraradicals as a way to design better cancer drugs.

In 2010, Vinueza was a postdoctoral fellow of the US Department of Energy in the Center of Direct Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels, an Energy Frontiers Research Center at Purdue. During this time, Vinueza’s research focus was the development of new mass spectrometry methods for the analysis of lignin and cellulose degradation products as well as bio-oil.

• Nelson R. Vinueza, Vanessa A. Gallardo, John F. Klimek, Nicholas Carpita and Hilkka I. Kenttämaa. “Analysis of Xyloglucans by Ambient Chloride Attachment Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry.” Carbohydr. Polym. 2013, 98, 1203-1213.
• Nelson R. Vinueza, Vanessa A. Gallardo, John F. Klimek, Nicholas Carpita and Hilkka I. Kenttämaa. “Analysis of Sugars by Chloride Ion Attachment Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization/Tandem Mass Spectrometry.” Fuel2013, 105, 235-246.
• Nelson R. Vinueza, Enada F. Archibold, Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz, Steven C. Habicht, Mohammad S. Aqueel, John J. Nash and Hilkka I. Kenttämaa. “Reactivity of the 4,5–Didehydroisoquinolinium Ion: a σ,σ–Biradical Cation.” Chem. Eur. J. 2012, 18, 8692-8698.
• Vanessa A. Gallardo, Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz, Nelson R. Vinueza, John J. Nash and Hilkka I. Kenttämaa. “A Reactivity Study on a 1,2,3,5-Tetradehydrobenzene: the 2,4,6-Tridehydropyridine Radical Cation.” J. Am. Soc. Chem. 2012, 134, 1926-1929.
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz, Anthony Adeuya, Michael J. Yurkovich, Nelson R. Vinueza, Samuel J. Gardner III, Meng Zhou, John J. Nash, Hilkka I. Kenttämaa. “Reactivity of an Aromatic σ,σ,σ-Triradical: the 2,4,6-Tridehydropyridinium Cation.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 9198-9201.