Integrated Multi-Physics Laboratory
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Principle Investigator

Pania Newell Adjunct Faculty, School of Computing, The University of Utah. Adjunct Faculty, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Utah. Post-Doc, Engineering Sciences, Sandia National Laboratories, 2011-2012. Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Colorado-Boulder, 2011. M.S., Civil Engineering, University of Colorado-Boulder, 2009. M.S., Civil Engineering, University of New Mexico, 2006. B.S., Civil Engineering, Baha'i Institute for Higher Education, 2001.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Bozo Vazic is currently a postdoc in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He obtained his masters degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Zagreb, Croatia and his PhD in mechanical engineering from University of Strathclyde, UK. He worked on optimization methodology, software development for design and maintenance of software package for electrostatic modeling and simulation. In his spare time, he enjoys running, hiking and skiing. Project: Higher-order thermo-mechanical homogenization. Sponsor: The Department of Energy-Office of Basic Sciences

Xiaoming Zhang is currently a postdoc in the Mechanical Engineering Department. She obtained both her bachelor's and master's degrees in petroleum engineering from the China University of Petroleum, and she obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Wyoming. She worked on history matching to predict the fracture distribution in fractured reservoirs, coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to simulate fluid-solid flow for different conditions. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and exercising.

Graduate Student

	Yanbo Wang is a 3-yr Ph.D. student in the Mechanical Engineering program. He obtained both master and bachelor degrees in petroleum engineering. He has worked as petroleum engineer for 2 years in CNOOC. In spare time, he enjoys reading, hiking, fishing and spending time with friends and families. Project: Thermo-mechanical characterization of porous media Sponsor: The Oak Ridge National Laboratory
	Seo Ahn Young is a 2-yr Ph.D. student in the ME program. She received her Bachelors of Science from the University of Utah in Physics with Applied Physics emphasis. She worked at Domo for 1.5 years as a QA Technician and a Technical Support Engineer, and as a professional model. In her free time, she enjoys watching movies, cooking, long boarding, and photography. Project: In-situ nanomechanical characterization of porous media Sponsor: The Department of Energy-Office of Basic Sciences
	Ryan Nielsen is currently a PhD student in the Mechanical Engineering program. He received his bachelor of science from the University of Utah in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Solid Mechanics. He currently works in the aerospace industry as an engineer for Williams International . During his free time, Ryan enjoys traveling, playing music, rock climbing and skateboarding. Project: Thermo-mechanical homogenization in porous materials. Sponsor: Industry
	Abdullah Arafat is currently a master's student in the Mechanical Engineering program. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET). He has experience in Computer-aided design (CAD), Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and Molecular simulations (e.g: Molecular Dynamics, DFT, etc). In his spare time, he enjoys reading, watching movies, spending time with friends, and 3d modeling. Project: Investigation of thermo-mechanics of nano channels.
	Thomas Clair is currently an intern in the Integrated Multi-Physics Lab until September 2023. In France, he is a master's student studying engineering in the Department of Energy and Environmental Engineering at INSA Lyon. He is expected to graduate in June 2024. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer and reading books by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Project: Thermo-mechanical response of Phase-Change Materials (PCM) in cement-based materials.
	Joseph Spencer is currently a master's master’s student studying mechanical engineering at the University of Utah. Before coming to the University of Utah, Joe completed his bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. When he isn’t busy at work on his engineering projects, he likes to write computer programs, learn to speak new languages, and go on adventures with his wife and the family dog. Project: Multiphysics machine learning.

Undergraduate Student

	Tyler Walker is a second-year undergraduate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He's interested in studying computational solid mechanics and intends to go through the BS/MS program at The University of Utah. In his spare time, he plays the piano, guitar, and enjoys snowboarding.
	Luke Phillips is a fourth-year undergraduate student perusing a major physics with a computational emphasis, applied mathematics, and a minor in computer science. He is interested in machine learning, chaos theory, and cosmology. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing, studying new languages, and studying sociology and philosophy.

Group Alumni