Research Areas
Research within the department can be categorized under the following areas of focus:
- Aerospace
- Bioengineering
- Design
- Dynamic Systems, Controls, and Robotics
- Energy Systems and Air Quality
- Fluid Mechanics
- Materials
- Structural Dynamics and Acoustics
- Thermal Transport
Clickhereto learn about specific research projects happening with professors in the department!
Aerospace
Aerospace engineering focuses on flight systems such as aircraft and spacecraft. Applications also include other "flight" systems such as underwater vehicles, wind turbines, and high performance automobiles. Research in the department includes both computational and experimental research across various applications including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, turbomachinery, satellites, airports, and wind turbines.
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Faculty with research in this area
Steve Gorrell(TRL
Matt Allen(SDRG
Larry Howell(Compliant Mechanisms
Tim McLain(MAGICC Lab
Andrew Ning(FLOW Lab
John Salmon(BESD Lab
Bioengineering
Biomechanics is the application of mechanics to biology and has origins dating back to Aristotle. Biomechanics seeks to understand the mechanics of living systems, from molecules to organisms. Biomechanical engineering is the practical implementation of this understanding, and embodies the attempts of humans to design and develop mechanical devices that mimic, measure, improve, repair, or replace the function of living systems.
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Faculty with research in this area
- Matt Allen(SDRG
- Anton Bowden(BABEL
- Steven Charles(Neuromechanics
- Douglas Cook:Crop Biomechanics
- Christopher Dillon(Bioheat Transfer
- Larry Howell(Compliant Mechanisms
- Brian Jensen(BioMEMSDesign): Fabrication and testing of biomedical systems on the nano- and micro-scale.
- Matt Jones: Radiofrequency cardiac ablation, Near infrared imaging and spectroscopy, Personal Protective Equipment.
- Nathan Usevitch: Assistive device design, wearable haptic devices.
- Matt Allen(SDRG
Design
Engineering design affects everyday life - everything around us has been designed. Design involves the systematic interplay between creation and validation with the intent to bring useful parts, products, or systems, to the marketplace. Researchers in engineering design develop theories, methodologies, and tools that improve the design process and bring new capabilities to the hands of the mechanical designer. This includes computer aided engineering, systems design, product development, numerical and optimization methods, and the integration of engineering with other disciplines.
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Faculty with research in this area
- Nathan Crane(CREATE lab
- Larry Howell(Compliant Mechanisms
- Brian Jensen(BioMEMSDesign): Synthesis of Advanced Materials.
- Spencer Magleby: Engineering design, product development, compliant mechanisms.
- Chris Mattson(Design Exploration
- Andrew Ning(FLOW Lab
- John Salmon(CAD Lab
- John Salmon(BESD Lab
- Nathan Usevitch: Design of robotic systems that enable new behaviors.
- Nathan Crane(CREATE lab
Dynamic Systems, Controls, and Robotics
Many modern engineering systems, including robots, biomedical devices, vehicles, sensors, and machinery are comprised of interconnected dynamic elements. The ability to design, model, and control such systems is essential in modern engineering. Current areas of focus related to dynamic systems and controls at BYU include unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), active noise control, haptic interfaces, and robotics.
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Faculty with research in this area
- Matt Allen(SDRG
- Steven Charles(Neuromechanics
- Mark Colton: Robotics, haptic interfaces, and mechatronics.
- Jeff Hill (SMASH Lab)
- Marc Killpack(RaD Lab
- Tim McLain(MAGICC
- Nathan Usevitch: Soft robotics, mechanical design of robotic systems.
- Matt Allen(SDRG
Energy Systems and Air Quality
The dual specters of global warming and political instability in oil exporting countries have made the development of sustainable energy systems a national priority. Research in the department spans various aspects of energy engineering and includes collaborations with other departments, industry, and national labs.
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Faculty with research in this area
- Brad Adams(AQR Lab
- Brian Iverson(Flux Lab
- Matt Jones: Power harvesting, energy transport and conversion.
- Troy Munro(TEMP Lab
- Andrew Ning(FLOW Lab
- Jason Porter(MODES Lab): Optical diagnostics, batteries, and renewable fuels.
- John Salmon(BESD Lab
- Dale Tree: Combustion systems and optical diagnostics, Carbon capture, Gas turbine engines.
- Brad Adams(AQR Lab
Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Transport
Fluid mechanics deals with the study of liquids and gases at rest or in motion. Research in fluid mechanics focuses on understanding how fluids move and interact with their surroundings over the range of length scales from the nano-scale to the global scale. Fluid mechanics research encompasses many complicated dynamic systems which are solved through a combination of experiments and direct observation, analytical methods, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Research topics at BYU are broad and include areas such as: biological flows, micro- and nano-fluidic systems, flow physics in turbomachines, turbulence, fluid-structure interactions, atmospheric and oceanic flow dynamics, aircraft aerodynamics, and reacting flows.
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Faculty with research in this area
- Nathan Crane(CREATE lab
- Julie Crockett(Waves
- Steve Gorrell(TRL
- Dan Maynes(Fluids Lab
- Andrew Ning(FLOW Lab
- Nathan Speirs: Entry of objects into a body of water, inception and collapse dynamics of vaporous cavitation, microscale interactions of particles and droplets in the atmosphere.
- Nathan Crane(CREATE lab
Materials
Progress in materials science is at the heart of most exciting advances in modern engineering. Materials science consists in exploring the relationships between structure, properties and processing operations that define a material. The engineering materials group develops novel processing techniques to prepare advanced materials. We use cutting edge microscopy to determine material structure at the nano-scale. Then, we employ mathematical tools to characterize the structure and properties of the material, and we design even better ones.
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Faculty with research in this area
- Nathan Crane(CREATE lab
- David Fullwood(Materials
- Eric Homer(Materials
- Oliver Johnson(Johnson Group
- Troy Munro(TEMP Lab
- Jason Porter
- Nathan Crane(CREATE lab
Structural Dynamics and Acoustics
Acoustics research at BYU is strongly cross-disciplinary in character and focuses on the following areas: active noise and vibration control, sound-structure interaction, nonlinear acoustics, audio acoustics and architectural acoustics. The research in acoustics is both experimental and computational in nature and includes simulation and measurement of physical systems, as well as signal processing. Structural dynamics research focuses on modeling and experimental methods to ensure that structures such as aircraft and launch vehicles can survive the dynamic loads that they experience during operation.
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Faculty with research in this area
- Matt Allen(SDRG
- Jon Blotter(BYU Acoustics
- Matt Allen(SDRG
Thermal Transport
Thermodynamics and Heat and Mass Transfer play a critical role in the design and optimization of energy conversion systems at all length scales (nano-, micro- and meso-scales). At BYU, we investigate methods to enhance and/or control transport of heat and mass to achieve efficient thermal management, chemical reactions and energy systems. Efforts include experimental and analytical approaches and address a host of applications (combustion, aerospace, biosensors, energy harvesting, etc.).
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Faculty with research in this area
- Brad Adams(AQR Lab
- Nathan Crane(CREATE lab
- Christopher Dillon(Bioheat Transfer Lab
- Brian Iverson(Flux Lab
- Matt Jones: Reduced order methods, Analysis and Compression, Thermophysical Property Measurements
- Troy Munro(TEMP Lab
- Dale Tree: Combustion and optical diagnostics.
- Brent Webb: Spectral modeling approaches for radiation in high temperature gases.
- Jason Porter
- Brad Adams(AQR Lab