Clarkson University honors student Andres Garcia Jiminez ‘20 has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Garcia Jiminez, a dual aeronautical engineering and physics major with a minor in mathematics, will be completing his graduate work in track for a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Professor Zachary Cordero studying mechanisms that cause frictional ignition of engineering alloys in propulsive systems.
Garcia Jiminez began his research career by receiving the Ronald E. McNair Scholarship and has since been conducting research with Clarkson University Associate Mechanical and Aeronautical Professor Ioannis Mastorakos on strengthening metallic nanoforms through design of ligament scale materials to increase strength and ductility while maintaining low density.
Garcia Jiminez has presented his work at seven conferences, including the Materials Research Society international conference, receiving two awards for best poster presentation and three awards for best oral presentation. Garcia Jiminez has published three papers, with a fourth paper in preparation.
In 2019, Garcia Jimenez won the prestigious German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) Scholarship to conduct research in Dresden, Germany at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems working on ultrasound characterization of materials.
Garcia Jimenez is also part of a locally funded research project to determine the effects of weather and ice on river discharge at the Iroquois Dam on the St. Lawrence River, working with Civil and Environmental Engineering Research Assistant Professor Fengbin Huang to understand the causes of ice jamming, such as changes in temperature and precipitation, to help develop preventive measures to minimize future ice jamming.
Among many awards, as a sophomore, Garcia Jimenez won the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship.
In his work at MIT, Garcia Jiminez aims to understand the relationship between frictional ignition and oxidational wear, discovering the causes that lead to oxide breakdown during high-speed sliding, which is critical for the design of advanced rocket engines to prevent failure and internal explosion. The project will also allow the creation of new alloy compositions that are resistant to frictional ignition in spacecraft propulsion systems.
With the knowledge gathered through his Clarkson education and future research and graduate studies at MIT, along with his National Science Foundation funding, Garcia Jimenez hopes to revolutionize the industry by generating sustainable materials with more advantageous properties by creating cost-effective, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly spacecraft structures.
As part of the Honors Program at Clarkson University, he is writing his undergraduate Honors Thesis on Strengthening Metallic Nanofoams Through Ligaments Scale Materials Design, a process that confirmed his desire to study material and structures design for aerospace systems during his upcoming graduate work.
The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is administered at Clarkson University through Karyn Crispo, Associate Director of Advising and Scholarship Preparation. Karyn holds workshops and meetings between July and October for students interested in applying for a NSF GRFP; she can be reached at kcrispo@clarkson.edu or 315-268-6006.
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