Principal Investigator
Lulin Jiang, Ph.D.
2014 – The University of Alabama, Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering
2013 – The University of Alabama, M.S. Mechanical Engineering
2009 – Huazhong University of Science & Technology, China, M.S. Energy & Environmental Law
2005 – North China Electric Power University, China, Thermal Energy & Power Engineering, B.S. Honors
Graduate Students
Rachel Swinney
2022 – Baylor University – B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Rachel Swinney is a first-year Ph.D. student who is studying spray and combustion. She started working as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in her junior year under Dr. Jiang’s supervision. She obtained a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and mathematics minor with honors from Baylor in the Spring of 2022. Beyond engineering, she enjoys adventuring outdoors and describes herself by Galatians 2:20.
S. M. Rafiul Islam
2013 – Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology – B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Rafiul Islam completed his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2013. He worked in the power sector of Bangladesh for more than 6 years. He has experience in the operation, maintenance, and contract management of power plants. He started studying at Baylor University in 2022 as a Ph.D student. His research interests include fluid mechanics, clean combustion, alternative fuels, and renewable energy. Currently, he is working on the clean combustion of alternative fuels. Outside of the lab, he loves traveling, reading, and enjoying music.
Undergraduate Students
Timothy Hall
Timothy Hall is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in mathematics. He has worked in Dr. Jiang’s lab for two and a half years and has spent time on both the design side and the testing side in the combustion group. He recently published his first conference paper on combustion characteristics of glycerol and methanol fuel blends. After graduation he will be working as a flight test instrumentation engineer at Lockheed Martin.
Derek Williams
Derek is a junior mechanical engineering major from San Jose California. He has been working for Dr. Jiang for two years and all that time on the combustion side. He enjoys reading, hiking, and writing in his free time. This summer he will be realizing his dream job as an engineering intern at SpaceX in Mcgregor and he intends to continue working there after graduation.
Caleb Chakmakjian
Caleb is a sophomore at Baylor studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace. He worked in Dr. Jiang’s lab group in summer and fall of 2022 and is excited to rejoin the team this summer. His work is focused on conducting combustion tests for CO and NOx emissions and designing swirlers for improved combustion efficiency. In his free time, he likes to play basketball and write music. After graduation, he hopes to work in the private space travel industry as a propulsion or test engineer.
Curtis Jackson
Curtis is a Senior Mechanical Engineering major who has been involved in research with Dr. Jiang since January of 2022. His main role is designing the injectors tested in the lab. Some of his hobbies include cooking, volleyball, and traveling. He looks forward to furthering his understanding on scientific concepts through his research experience and he is interested in discovering new ideas that will benefit society going forward. After graduation he will work at Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Presley Mogote
Presley Mogote is a junior at Baylor University, studying both Mechanical Engineering and Music Performance. He has been with Dr. Jiang’s research team since the fall of 2022, mainly taking the role of manufacturing lead to help develop and produce prototypes. His hobbies include rock climbing, reading, and playing chess. Presley aims to pursue a graduate’s degree in engineering after completing his undergraduate degrees.
Ishaan Patel
Ishaan Patel is a junior at Baylor University majoring in General Engineering (Biomedical Concentration). He has been working with Dr. Jiang since the summer of 2022 primarily focused on combustion research. He is also the Engineering Lead of both the High Power Rocket and the Liquid Rocket Engine Teams at Baylor. He enjoys spending his free time outside or with friends. His primary interests lie in rocket engineering and space technology and his goal is to eventually work in the space industry, specifically within human spaceflight.
Tony Bui
Tony Bui is a sophomore at Baylor University studying Mechanical Engineering. He is currently working with Dr. Jiang’s research team since the fall of 2022, where he assisted in combustion maintenance and experimental temperature-emission data acquisition. His hobbies include learning Japanese, breakdancing, and Kendo. After graduating from Baylor University, he aspires to work for renewable/sustainable energy industries.
John Cary
John Cary is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major at Baylor University. He has been working with Dr. Jiang’s research team since the beginning of the Fall 2022 semester with injector design and spray flow testing. Several hobbies of John include modifying and working on cars, playing musical instruments, and driving racecars competitively.
Zoe Pillai
Zoe has been working as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Jiang’s lab since fall 2022. She has been involved in literature review of waste derived fuels and assisted in the assembly of the spray chamber and injector parts. She has also advanced the commercialization of three of Dr. Jiang’s invention disclosures, while working with Baylor’s Lab to Market Collaborative.
Andrew Beyer
Andrew Beyer is a Junior at Baylor University studying Mechanical Engineer. He has been with Dr. Jiang’s research team since the start of 2023. Since joining has been involved in the combustion testing for the group. His interest includes tennis, mountain biking and woodworking.
Karly Jackson
Karly Jackson is a sophomore at Baylor University, primarily studying Mechanical Engineering with additional minors in Spanish, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship. She recently joined Dr. Jiang’s research team in spring of 2023 and is looking forward to focusing on the designing aspect of the project. Karly is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma at Baylor, and she loves running, volunteering at her local church, and experiencing different cultures around the world.
Alumni
Oladapo S. Akinyemi, PhD
2019 – University of Louisiana at Lafayette – Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering
Oladapo is currently a propulsion test engineer at Boeing. He has 7+ years of experience in Mechanical Engineering with focus on Combustion and Thermal fluids science. Oladapo graduated with his B.Sc. from the University of Lagos Nigeria, and his MS. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Mechanical Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette under Dr. Jiang’s supervision.
Vu Danh
2017 – University of Louisiana at Lafayette – M.S. Mechanical Engineering
Vu Danh is currently working for Superior Energy Services as a Design Engineer. Vu worked as a Research Assistant under Dr. Jiang’s supervision in the combustion lab and completed his master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Joseph Breerwood
2020 – University of Louisiana at Lafayette – B.S. Mechanical Engineering; 2022- Baylor University – M.S. Mechanical Engineering
Joseph began working towards his M.S. in 2020 and earned his master’s under Dr. Jiang’s supervision. He is currently an Automation Engineer at Cortec CMS in Port Allen, Louisiana. His end career goal is to serve as a professor of thermodynamics after some experience is gained in the industry.
Imtiaz Qavi
2020 – University of Louisiana at Lafayette – M.S. Mechanical Engineering
Imtiaz earned his master’s under Dr. Jiang’s supervision. He is currently a Graduate Research Assistant at Texas Tech.
Nayer Nasim
2020 – University of Louisiana at Lafayette – M.S. Mechanical Engineering
Nayer earned his master’s under Dr. Jiang’s supervision. He is currently a Ph.D. student and Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Chris Ellis
2022 – Baylor University – B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Before attending Baylor University, Chris served 6 years in the United States Air Force as a Jet Engine Maintainer. He spent two years working as an undergraduate research assistant under Dr. Jiang before graduation. He currently works as an engineer at L3Harris in Waco. Dr. Jiang’s lab gave him many opportunities that helped him get the full-time job he has now.
Dylan Van Horn
2022 – Baylor University – B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Dylan led the combustion team under Dr. Jiang as an undergraduate student. He was heavily involved with experimental setup design and was the first author in a paper published on experiments done in the combustion chamber. The invaluable research experience gained in the lab has helped him in his job search after graduation.
Leonard Walker
2022 – Baylor University – B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Leonard began working as an undergraduate research assistant in 2020 and focused mainly on the CAD modeling of the spray chamber for analyzing sprays.
Lauren Wells
2022 – Baylor University – B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Lauren began working as an undergraduate research assistant in 2019. She was involved with the combustion experiment team and carried her experience with her into the aerospace and space industries working for Lockheed Martin and NASA in internships and a full-time job after graduation.