ME Graduate Students Awarded ASHRAE Grant-in-Aid Funds

Mechanical Engineering graduate students Vytenis Benetis & Sourav Chowdhury have received American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) Grant-in-Aid monetary awards for the scholastic year to support their research in fields of interest to the heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigerating (HVAC&R) industry.

The ASHRAE Graduate Student Grant-in-Aid Award Program provides research funds to full-time graduate students in support of the development of innovative ASHRAE-related technologies. It is awarded once each year for use in the following academic year. Normally 10 to 25 grants are made each year. Competition is open to both students in the U.S. and abroad. The department congratulates Benetis and Chowdhury for their outstanding achievement.

The grant is intended to encourage the student to continue his/her preparation for careers in the HVAC&R industry. The relevance of the research proposed by the candidate is a consideration for awarding the grant. Typical expenditures include living expenses, tuition, travel to ASHRAE meetings, experimental equipment, and supplies. Sourav Chowdhury was given the award for his research proposal Study of Condensation Phenomenon in Micro Channels and Development of a Sub-compact Condenser for Local/Spot Cooling Applications.

Vytenis Benetis’ will use his award to develop a micro-pump that is capable of working with environmentally friendly fluids that can also be used in the miniature cooling system both as the evaporator and the pump.

Their advisor Professor Michael Ohadi adds, “Our laboratory has been very successful in receiving these awards. Over the past ten years at least one of our students received an ASHRAE Grant-in-Aid award.”

In addition to the $7,500 award granted to each student's research, the students will receive a $1,500 check directly from ASHRAE upon publishing a research article based on their respective projects in ASHRAE's highly acclaimed International Journal of HVAC&R Research or in ASHRAE Transactions.

Last year recipient of the award was Mr. Amir Shooshtari. His award was used to study the development of mathematical modeling, backed up with experimental work, of the flow in micro pumps and micro fans with applications to the development of highly compact cooling systems.

Published August 15, 2004