Engineering graduate student earns NASA fellowship

Marcus Harden, a graduate student studying Mechanical Engineering at Youngstown State University, is the recipient of a State of Ohio Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Graduate Fellowship through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ohio Space Grant Consortium.  

As part of the fellowship, Harden will work with Ștefan Moldovan, YSU assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, on research titled “Modeling & Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of a TJT-3000 Micro Turbine Engine.”

“With the completion of my project, we will have a working and validated analysis model of the TJT-3000 Miniature Gas Turbine,” Harden said. “In combination with streamlined user operation of the TJT-3000, I see a large potential for an extremely informative lab relating to both combustion and aeronautics.”

The fellowship provides stipend support for eligible Ohio residents enrolled at Ohio universities seeking advanced STEM degrees relevant to sustaining an aerospace workforce in the state.

“Students enhance their learning and career development by undertaking these research projects that expose them to real problems in the aerospace industry, to which Ohio is well-positioned to contribute as a hub for flight technology development and manufacturing,” said Kevin Disotell, assistant professor of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering and YSU’s OSGC campus representative.

YSU is a university affiliate of the Ohio Space Grant Consortium, which also administered $7,000 in scholarships to YSU undergraduate students in STEM disciplines in Spring 2020:

• Alexis Cresanto (junior, Chemical Engineering): “Biochemical Research”
• Patrick McWhorter (senior, Chemical Engineering): “Examining Chitosan Polymer’s Adhesive Strength to Titanium in a Liquid Environment”
• Timothy Chamberlain (senior, Mechanical Engineering): “Design of Ranque-Hilsch Vortex Tube for Temperature-Sensitive Paint Testing”
• Nathan Lin (senior, Mechanical Engineering): “A Numerical Study of a Cyclone Separator at Reduced Operating Pressures”

Each student was required to complete a research project during the semester under the advisement of a YSU faculty member – Disotell; Pedro Cortes, Chemical engineering; and Holly Martin, Chemical Engineering. The Ohio Space Grant Consortium is part of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, established by Congress in 1989 and administered by the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Headquarters. Space Grant is a national network of colleges and universities working to expand opportunities for Americans to understand and participate in NASA’s aeronautics and space projects by supporting and enhancing STEM through scholarships, fellowships, higher education, research infrastructure, pre-college, and informal education public outreach efforts.