Louisiana Board of Regents (BoR) Ph.D. Fellowships

This award was established through an award to the College of Engineering from the Board of Regents. Each year, the College of Engineering submits a proposal for potential funding. The College currently has eight BoR Fellows.

Fellowships for the Fall 2012 are available. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident planning to enroll in one of our engineering programs. The requested Fellowships are focused in four overlapping areas. The areas are:

  • Increasing the diversity of engineering graduate students
  • Fostering Ph.D.s to enter academia
  • Promoting economic development
  • Conducting research to improve quality of life with a specific focus on energy and infrastructure

The Fellowship is for four years. These awards are for entering graduate students only - not those currently enrolled. Once awarded, students must maintain a 3.5 GPA. New partial BoR Fellowship is available.

APPLICATION PACKET FOR THE BOARD OF REGENTS PH.D. FELLOWSHIP 2012-13

DEADLINE: VARIES DEPENDING ON START DATE OF PROGRAM

Board of regents graduate fellows

Pictured above, Back Row:  Aaron Henry, Elizabeth Chisholm

Front Row: Christopher Foreman, Joseph Gibson, Miranda Smith, Allyson Moll

 

Current BoR Graduate Student Research Areas

  "Oxide Promotion of Higher Alcohol Formation on Copper-Cobalt Catalysts"

My research deals with the synthesis of ethanol and higher alcohols by CO hydrogenation. The foscus is on developing, characterizing, and testing suitable catalysts to selectively carry out this reaction. Emphasis is place on real-time in situ studies, including x-ray absorption spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy, to determine the oxidation state and adsorption centers of the activating/activated catalyst.

(Miranda Smith, Ph.D. Student, Chemical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. James Spivey)

  "Silver Nanoparticle-Oligonucleotide Conjugates for Targeted Gene Silencing"

This project is focused on producing a nanoparticle gene silencing delivery system based on the cleavage effects of a 10-23 deoxyribozyme. The gene silencing delivery vehicle, silver nanoparticle, is functionalized with a thiol-modified deoxyribozyme with internal photocleavable linkers. The intended target for cleavage is the mutant K-RAS gene, a critical component that encodes signal transduction pathway proteins causing several cancers including pancreatic, colorectal, and lung cancers. The internal photocleavable linkers are essential to the spatiotemporal control of the release of the gene silencing deoxyribozymes.

(Alyson Moll, Ph.D. Student, Biological Engineering; Advisor: Dr. William Monroe)

 

  "Numerical and experimental evaluation of fuel-rich, high temperature combustion"

My research is focused on the numerical and experimental evaluation of fuel-rich, high temperature combustion. The driving application for this research is the conversion of biomass (e.g. sawdust) into a synthesis gas, specifically the removal of tar and other byproducts from the initial gasification by partial oxidation, effectively "cleaning" the gas into a useable, renewable energy source.

(Joseph Gibson, M.S. Student, Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Ingmar Schoegl)


   "Performance of structures and infrastructure during hurricane and flood events"

My Ph.D. research is focused on the performance of structures and infrastructure during hurricane and flood events. I have conducted past research on hurricane and flood damage to buried infrastructure, and I am now expanding my research to above-ground structures. For my current research, my ultimate goals will be to determine how facilities perform in extreme weather conditions, and find ways to merge sustainable practice with hazard resistance, in order to build more resilient communities.

(Elizabeth Chisolm, Ph.D. Student, Construction Managmement & Industrial Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Carol Friedland)

My current research is in active control of film-cooling on gas turbine blades and how it is affected by unsteady flow fields. A closed loop wind tunnel utilizes a three blade cascade which simulates the periodic flow field created by rotors and a closed loop conveyor which simulates wakes created by nozzle guide vanes in a gas turbine. A United States Air Force low pressure turbine blade profile is being used in the cascade. Film-cooling experiments have not been performed on low pressure turbine blades which is what makes this facility unique. Using this facility we can obtain heat transfer information on the blade surface for numerous flow conditions including steady and unsteady free stream air flows, and different film cooling jet blowing velocities. Using this information we can better understand how different flow conditions affect film cooling in gas turbines and how we can optimize film cooling to make it more efficient. More efficiently and better cooled gas turbines results in reduced maintenance, longer life and possibly more power for less fuel consumption.

(Christopher Foreman, MS Student, Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Dimitris Nikitopoulos)