Disotell and Dong Awarded Prestigious Presidential Fellowship

Kevin Disotell and Sheng Dong, graduate students in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), received the 2014 Autumn Semester Presidential Fellowship awarded by The Ohio State University Graduate School.  The Presidential Fellowship is the most prestigious award given by the Graduate School, and recognizes the outstanding scholarly accomplishments and potential of graduate students entering the final phase of their dissertation research or terminal degree project. 

Disotell received his BS degree in aerospace

engineering from Ohio State with highest honors.  He is currently funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, and was previously a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow selected by the U.S. Army Research Office.  His research focuses on characterization of detached air flows over aerodynamic surfaces, which limit the performance of ground and air vehicles.  His experience ranges from optical measurement of surface pressure on rotating helicopter and wind turbine blades, to understanding the formation of three-dimensional cell patterns in highly separated flows.

Disotell is advised by James Gregory, associate professor in MAE, whose research interests include aerodynamic flow control, among others. 

Disotell says he is humbled to be selected for a Presidential Fellowship at Ohio State with so many world-class researchers.  “Receiving this award will allow me to continue to strive for impactful scholarship that can benefit society,” he stated.

Sheng Dong received a BS degree in civil engineering from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, and earned a MS degree in bridge engineering from Tongji University, Shanghai, China.  His research focuses on ultrasonic lubrication, which utilizes ultrasonic vibrations to reduce friction and wear between sliding surfaces. His work has elucidated key principles that enable ultrasonic lubrication, and through innovative experiments and modeling, has quantified the phenomenon for a range of material combinations, speeds, and forces, making it possible to design systems that take advantage of ultrasonic lubrication in industrial applications.

Dong’s advisor is Professor Marcelo Dapino, Honda R & D Americas Designated Chair in Engineering, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Senior Fellow with Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research, and Associate Director for Research of the National Science Foundation I/UCRC on Smart Vehicle Concepts. 

“Receiving the Presidential Fellowship is a great honor, and tremendous recognition of my research over the past four years,” said Dong.  “I am encouraged to continue working hard to produce quality research to enrich and deepen my dissertation until graduation.”

“The research accomplishments of Kevin and Sheng are remarkable, and we congratulate them both on this significant recognition,” said Ahmet Selamet, MAE Department Chair.

The Graduate School awards about 15 Presidential Fellowships each semester for outstanding academic achievement. The fellowship provides financial support so that each Presidential Fellow may devote one year of full-time study to the completion of his or her dissertation or degree project unimpeded by other duties.  Competitions are held autumn and spring semesters.