Day: January 27, 2020

Doctoral Finishing Fellowship Spring 2020 Recipient – Di Huang

Di Huang
Materials Science & Engineering

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Material Science and Engineering, working with my advisor, Dr. Jiann-Yang Hwang. Over the past four years, my research interest has been focused on ion exchange membranes, which play important roles in desalination and purification industry. Ion exchange membranes that are more related to my research is the industrial wastewater treatment. Studying the high-performance ion exchange membranes helps to solve the excessive water pollution issue, such as wastewater of plating industry. The synthesis method implemented in my research can appropriately decrease the production cost of ion exchange membranes applied for treating wastewater with high heavy metal ions. Furthermore, this ion exchange membrane would better save electrical energy for electrochemical device which were widely used in wastewater retreatment field.

am extremely honored to be awarded the finishing scholarship and very grateful to have this support during this stage of my research. This fellowship provides me  precious time and energy to focus on my final dissertation and allows me equipping myself to start the next stage of my career.

Doctoral Finishing Fellowship Spring 2020 Recipient – Dongdong (Alex) Ge

Dongdong (Alex) Ge
Civil Engineering

As a Ph.D. student, I am enthusiastic and work hard in my efforts in research works, I have assisted my supervisor to prepare about 5 proposals from agencies, and I was CO-PI of a few proposals submitted in the past year. I have also participated in several other research projects from DOTs. To date, my research has led to a number of papers including 21 published peer-reviewed journal papers, 3 conference proceedings, and 2 under-review paper. In addition, I am preparing 2 more journal papers to be submitted at this time. In the past few years, I have been supported with various project support as GRA and two semesters of GTA. My efforts in teaching made me earn the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award in 2018. I was also awarded the P.M. Thornton Endowed Fellowship in 2019.

Doctoral Finishing Fellowship Spring 2020 Recipient – Christa Meingast

Christa Meingast
Environmental Engineering

My Ph.D.  research at MTU focuses on pathogen inactivation in clinical and wastewater applications. Pathogenic infections are prevalent throughout the world, and public safety measures to prevent these diseases are essential. Currently, my research aims to determine an effective process for inactivating viruses in pharmaceutical manufacturing without harming proteins. Throughout my graduate career in environmental engineering, I have found a passion for teaching and researching. When I graduate in May 2020, I plan to obtain a career in post-secondary education in the STEM Field. I wish to spread scientific knowledge and an understanding of environmental sustainability through education.

I am very grateful for being awarded the Finishing Fellowship to support my Ph.D. research for Spring 2020. This funding allows me to focus my attention on my research so I can complete my degree. I also want to thank my advisors Dr. Caryn Heldt and Dr. Veronica Webster for their constant guidance and support throughout my graduate career.

Doctoral Finishing Fellowship Spring 2020 Recipient – Sarah Jalal

Sarah Jalal
Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

I started my PhD in the Mechanical Engineering department in Fall 2015 with Dr. Fernando Ponta. My research focuses on the study of the aeroelastic behavior of variable speed stall controlled wind turbines to improve the overall efficiency of the next generation of such utility-scale machines.

I would like to thank the Graduate School for awarding me the Finishing Fellowship for the Spring 2020 semester. This fellowship will help me to focus on the final stage of my PhD to write my dissertation and complete publication manuscripts in a timely manner. I am grateful for all the support provided to me.