March 10, 2025 Spring 2025 Faustin-Prinz Research Fellowship Awardees Written By: Caitlin Scott Departments: Mechanical Engineering Categories: Research|Students|Undergraduate The Department of Mechanical Engineering Faustin-Prinz Research Fellowship supports undergraduate Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics students who want to develop a research project with ME or EM faculty, gain access to cutting-edge laboratory equipment, and work closely with a faculty project advisor. Spring 2025 Faustin-Prinz Research Fellowship awardees Learn more about the five new projects launching in spring 2025. Lincoln Devine Student: Lincoln Devine Advisor: Xiaoping Qian Project: A Data-Driven Generative Approach To Heat Sink Design Unlocking innovative thermal management in small electronics requires optimization of heat sinks. In current research on pin fin heat sink optimization, the geometry of pin fins is defined by a single set of user-defined design variables. The proposed approach would expand the design space to combine a variety of pin fin shapes and topologies. Using a generative machine learning model, unique designs not directly represented by the input data are possible. A variational autoencoder (VAE) would extract the important geometric information from a range of inputs and summarize it in a small set of general variables. A Bayesian optimizer could modify the essential variables to generate new designs, adjusting the unit cell geometry for a given scenario and minimizing temperature and pressure drop. Optimization across multiple design spaces using a VAE has the potential to discover new designs that blend the best aspects of the inputs through a data-driven method. This improves upon traditional techniques by reducing bias. David Han Student: David Han Advisor: Eric Kazyak Project: Operando Temperature Measurement Within Li-ion Batteries During Thermal Events Batteries play a crucial role in both stationary and transportation applications and ensuring safety is a top priority. Understanding the battery’s internal state during operation is of great importance for improving its management and safety. This research will focus on embedding optical fiber sensors inside batteries for operando temperature mapping, with an emphasis on understanding the role of spatial heterogeneities and environmental conditions on Li-ion battery performance and safety. Evan Jaklitsch Student: Evan Jaklitsch Advisor: Luca Mastropasqua Project: Additive Manufacturing of Ceramics Using SLA 3D Printing A major challenge in ceramic manufacturing is the difficulty of processing these inherently brittle materials. Ceramics are difficult to machine and post-process, limiting their shapes to relatively simple geometries. This problem could be alleviated with additive manufacturing, specifically stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing. By suspending a ceramic in a photopolymer resin and burning out the polymer after printing, dense ceramic parts with complex geometries can theoretically be achieved. The main problem with this is that photopolymer resins that are used for SLA printing must meet precise rheological and optical requirements for dense, accurate final parts. Adding in a solid ceramic material to a liquid photopolymer resin while still achieving these parameters is extremely difficult. The resin’s fluid flow, viscosity, and light permeability all change with the addition of a ceramic. The ceramic itself also must possess a specific particle size distribution and be paired with the correct dispersant to maintain a stable solution. My project focuses on understanding these parameters and the process of producing a dense, polymer-derived ceramic part. Ultimately, I aim to develop my own using a lab-provided ceramic. Benjamin Prunuske Student: Benjamin Prunuske Advisor: Mike Zinn Project: Design and Applied Control of a 2 Degree-of-Freedom Robotic Manipulator This project aims to develop a robust and sturdy serial chain robotic manipulator with 2 degrees of freedom, capable of controlling the position of the end effector. It will also implement haptic control for manual manipulation by a human. The project involves developing forward kinematics to position the end effector based on joint angles and solving inverse kinematics to determine the joint angles required for a desired end effector position. Additionally, it includes selecting proper electromechanical components to create a functional prototype that can achieve design goals such as drawing a picture and providing sturdy haptic resistance. Abigail Winn Student: Abigail Winn Advisor: Xiangru Xu Project: Safety Verification of Image-based Neural Network Control Systems via Constrained Zonotopes This project aims to develop a novel and scalable reachability analysis algorithm for perception-based autonomous control systems (e.g., self-driving cars, autonomous aircraft taxiing systems). A major challenge in deploying these systems in real-world applications is the lack of rigorous safety guarantees. To address this, we propose algorithms for computing the forward reachable sets of feedback control systems that incorporate perception-driven deep neural networks, including Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), using constrained zonotopes. The theoretical developments will be validated on autonomous ground and aerial vehicles equipped with depth cameras. Students interested in participating in the Faustin-Prinz Research Fellowship can find more information about the opportunity on the ME Intranet under research opportunities or can reach out to Mark Anderson, manderson@engr.wisc.edu, with questions.