Research Areas

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kentucky incorporates traditional broad research discipline areas with cutting-edge technology and applications. Our Strategic Plan is focused on developing strength in five key areas through diverse and collaborative research to impact the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the nation and the world. Our major research discipline areas and strategic research focus areas include:

Research Discipline Areas

Strategic Research Focus Areas

Our faculty conduct multi-disciplinary research cutting across these discipline and strategic areas with collaborations throughout the College of Engineering and other colleges at the University of Kentucky and around the world.

Research News

Scott Berry inside a mobile research unit.

Prestigious NSF award to advance UK research to track emerging pathogens

Scott Berry, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, is the principal investigator of the six-year cooperative agreement projected to be nearly $18 million.

UK Pigman College of Engineering recommends the formation of the Institute for Decarbonization and Energy Advancement (IDEA)

UK Pigman College of Engineering recommends the formation of the Institute for Decarbonization and Energy Advancement (IDEA).

Left to Right: Lisa Cassis, UK vice president for research; Rudy Buchheit, dean of the UK Pigman College of Engineering; UK Provost Robert S. DiPaola; U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell; and I.S. Jawahir, principal investigator.

UK celebrates opening of engineering lab designed to advance US manufacturing

On May 29, the University of Kentucky’s Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Next Generation Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory (NextGen AMRL), the newest addition to the Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing (ISM).

Pigman College of Engineering researchers among top 2% of world’s most-cited

143 current UK scientists and scholars were included on the list compiled by Stanford University in a partnership with Elsevier, and 22 of those included are UK Pigman College of Engineering faculty.

Sean Bailey being interviewed in his lab

Bailey Takes Flight to Tackle Turbulence

Sean Bailey, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is working to get ahead of the increasing threat of clear air turbulence.

Edward Wang looking over railing into courtyard.

NSF CAREER Award advancing UK researcher’s work integrating AI in manufacturing

Peng “Edward” Wang, Robley D. Evans Faculty Fellow and an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering departments, has received the a prestigious NSF CAREER award for his research on AI in manufacturing.

Grady Lab Publishes Manuscript in Biofilm

Rising senior, postdoctoral fellow and Grady publish research on biofilm formation on dental implants.

Martha Grady One of Four to Receive Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently honored four professors for their dedication to mentoring with the Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Award during the 17th annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars.

2023 College of Engineering Faculty Awards

The annual College of Engineering Faculty Awards ceremony was held on April 27 at Malone's Prime and Events. Awards were given in the areas of research, service and graduate studies.

UK College of Engineering Hosts International Ablation Workshop

The Ablation Workshop took place on the University of Kentucky's campus on November 9-10, 2022. An international research community of scientists, engineers and students working on ablative thermal protection systems attended the event.

Graduate Students Present Work at Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing

Four graduate students in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering traveled to Berlin, Germany to present their work at the Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing in October, 2022.

KRUPS Team Receives ISSRDC Award

The University of Kentucky team that developed the Kentucky Re-entry and Universal Payload System (KRUPS) project received an Innovation and Technology Demonstration award at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) in July 2022.

NSF-Funded Engineering Research to Combat Medical Device Infections

Martha Grady, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is the recipient of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for her recent project, “Mechanical Mechanisms of Biofilm Survival on Implant Surfaces."

Savio Poovathingal Receives DEPSCOR Award to Model Hypersonic Environments

Savio Poovathingal received a three-year $600,000 award from the Department of Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) for his project titled, “Fragmentation and melting of ice particles subjected to hypersonic aerothermodynamic environments.”

Graduate Students Present Research at AIAA Aviation Forum

A group of University of Kentucky College of Engineering students and postdoctoral scholars presented their research at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aviation Forum and Exposition, in Chicago, IL.

NSF-funded Surface Engineering Research to Contribute to Air Safety

Did you know, in 2019, the Aerospace Industry Association (AIA) reported nearly 30% of uncontained engine failures are caused by machining and finishing process-induced abnormalities?

Research in Their Own Words: Jesse Hoagg on Control Theory

Jesse Hoagg, Donald and Gertrude Lester Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has advanced controls research at UK since arriving in 2010. In this piece, he explains how his research in control systems and control theory can advance a wide array of applications in science, engineering, and technology.

Research in Their Own Words: Jesse Hoagg on Control Theory

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Trainees Speak at the Society for Experimental Mechanics Annual Conference

Maria Hessin, a graduate student, J.D. Boyd, a postdoctoral scholar, and Laura Waldman, a postdoctoral scholar, all in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, gave talks at the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

UK Hosts Carbon (CO2) Capture Research and Deployment Forum

A forum on Carbon (CO2) Capture Research and Deployment was held on the University of Kentucky’s campus on June 8, 2022. The forum served as a platform for collaborators to review the current status of CO2 capture technologies and the gaps to be bridged for widespread application.

UK Research Project Seeks to Capture CO2 and Produce Hydrogen

The University of Kentucky has received $2.4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to develop a cost-effective system that will capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and produce hydrogen at natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants.

I. S. Jawahir Awarded the 2022 Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal

The SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal honors significant published research leading to a better understanding of materials, facilities, principles, operations and their application to improve manufacturing processes. Each year since 1957, one researcher is selected for this award.

UK, Nucor Steel Gallatin Partnering on Unique CO2 Capture Project

The University of Kentucky has received $4.9 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to provide its carbon dioxide (CO2) capture system a new challenge: to capture carbon dioxide at a low concentration from the Nucor Steel Gallatin process flue gas stream.

Graduate Student Justin Cooper Wins David Weaver Thermophysics Best Student Paper Award

Justin Cooper, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering mentored by Professor Alexandre Martin, won the 2022 AIAA David Weaver Thermophysics Best Student Paper Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Graduate Student Laura Waldman was Awarded a University Research Postdoctoral Fellowship

Laura Waldman, a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was one of four individuals awarded a University Research Postdoctoral Fellowship.

UK Makes History With Successful Space Capsule Experiment

It’s not often that seeing something you built set ablaze is cause for celebration. However, for a team of University of Kentucky students and scientists, triumph was found in seeing their work survive a fiery entry and safely land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

UK's Disease Detectives Use Wastewater Testing to Monitor COVID Infection Trends

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine and College of Engineering have joined forces to track the virus’ presence in the community using wastewater testing.

CAER will be developing an intensified, cost-effective and scalable process using aqueous potassium hydroxide (KOH) as capture solvent for direct air capture.

CAER Project Seeks to Capture Carbon Directly From the Atmosphere

In addition to developing direct air capture technology, this collaborative research team will also look at the engineering design systems for utilization and storage of carbon dioxide from air.

Reynolds Frimpong, senior research engineer at CAER, works on a carbon dioxide capture experiment.

LG&E and KU, UK CAER Collaborate to Create Net-Negative CO2 Emissions

In addition to capturing CO2, the system will produce two value-added streams, hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2,) which can be sold to offset the cost of CO2 capture.

James B. Beam Institute Collaborates on Spent Grains Solutions

Faculty with the institute will serve as judges in an upcoming contest to find innovative solutions for using spent grains.

UK Partners With NASA to Help Launch $15 Million Space Technology Research Institute

Researchers at the University of Kentucky are working with NASA to advance key technologies for exploring the moon, Mars and beyond.

UK Partners With NASA to Help Launch $15 Million Space Technology Research Institute

Researchers at the University of Kentucky are working with NASA to advance key technologies for exploring the moon, Mars and beyond.

UK Hosts 1st Event at New WAARP Flight Facility

Researchers from the University of Kentucky Department of Mechanical Engineering hosted collaborators from Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State University for a series of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flight experiments June 21-24 at the new Wildcat Agricultural and Atmospheric Research Pavilion (WAARP) flight facility. WAARP is located at North Farm off Ironworks Pike, a 971-hectare agricultural research facility operated by the University of Kentucky.

UK Hosts 1st Event at New WAARP Flight Facility

UK, UT-Knoxville, Army Collaborating on $50 Million Project to Advance US Manufacturing

The University of Kentucky, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL) have announced a five-year, $50 million collaboration directed toward improving manufacturing capabilities in the United States.

UK, UT-Knoxville, Army Collaborating on $50 Million Project to Advance US Manufacturing

Professor I.S. Jawahir (right), conducting cryogenic material processing experiments with Daniel Caudill (left), Mechanical Engineering graduate research assistant. Pete Comparoni | UK Photo.

UK, UT-Knoxville, Army Collaborating on $50 Million Project to Advance US Manufacturing

Under this three-way partnership, UK’s project will receive approximately $23.8 million from the U.S. Department of Defense

The uncrewed HiDRON stratospheric glider from Stratodynamics is designed to release from a sounding balloon at near-space altitude, enabling a controlled descent for technology payloads aboard. Credits: Stratodynamics, Inc./UAVOS

Hybrid Balloon/Glider System Tests NASA-Supported Turbulence Detection Technology

Sean Bailey, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is principal investigator for a wind probe from the University of Kentucky.

Five of UK's ten NSF Graduate Research Fellows are from the College of Engineering

Five Engineering Students and Recent Graduates Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

The NSF GRFP is the country’s oldest graduate fellowship program directly supporting graduate students since 1952.

Kristen Price Selected as a NASA Space Technology Graduate Researcher

Price also received a 2021 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, which she declined in favor of the NASA doctoral fellowship.

Martha Grady Receives NSF CAREER Award

Martha Grady, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with a joint appointment in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. Grady's project is titled, "Mechanical mechanisms of biofilm survival on implant surfaces" and will be funded in the amount of $599,796 over five years.

Martha Grady Receives NSF CAREER Award

BBC Publishes Article on UK Researchers' Work with Drones and Cattle

Jesse Hoagg, Michael Sama and Josh Jackson have been developing a way for farmers to autonomously monitor cattle using drones.

Brazing Aluminum Alloys in Space with Dusan Sekulic

Since 2017, Dusan P. Sekulic, Secat J. G. Morris Aluminum Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been leading an estimated $1 million international research project funded by NASA and the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities in Russia.

Brazing Aluminum Alloys in Space with Dusan Sekulic

Dusan Sekulic Part of NASA Teleconference on Next Space Station Resupply Mission

Since 2017, Sekulic has been leading an estimated $1 million international research project funded by NASA and the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities in Russia.

UK Researchers Advancing Wastewater Testing to Track COVID-19

Faculty members Scott Berry and Shakira Hobbs are testing a new technology to evaluate wastewater to track community presence of COVID-19.

Stratodynamics and the University of Kentucky to Conduct Test Flight at Spaceport America

Sean Bailey, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is the project’s Principal Investigator.

Martha Grady Leading Major Research Project through NIH COBRE Grant

Assistant professor Martha Grady will lead the project titled "Quantitative Mechanical Phenotyping of Bacterial Biofilms on Implant Surfaces."

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Measuring Atmospheric Turbulence with Sean Bailey

Sean Bailey, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, joined the UK College of Engineering faculty in 2010 after receiving his Ph.D. From the University of Ottawa and subsequently completing his postdoctoral work at Princeton University. In this interview, he discusses the advantages of using unmanned aerial vehicles to measure atmospheric conditions, his various projects that use UAVs and how UAVs may prove vital in the event of an airborne disaster.

Hoagg Awarded $1.2 Million Grant for Applied UAV Research

The National Science Foundation grant will allow a research team to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the event of airborne contaminant dispersion.

Computer Modeling for Heart Health with Jonathan Wenk and Kenneth Campbell

Combining physiology and engineering, UK’s Jonathan Wenk and Kenneth Campbell are developing computer software to deliver better therapies for patients with life-threatening heart failure. The National Institutes of Health recently awarded the team a $3 million five-year grant to create a computer model of the heart that can be customized to individual patients and predict long-term results.

Brehm Receives Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award

The honor is given to academic scientists and engineers who have shown exceptional promise for doing creative research early in their career.

Brehm’s project, “Numerical Investigations of Particle Interactions with Navy Relevant High-Speed Flows,” addresses the significant gap in knowledge for particulate-laden, high-speed flows, employing one-of-a-kind numerical investigations to study the interaction of particulates with high-speed flows for geometries and flow conditions relevant to the Navy.