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Engineering Ph.D. student selected for DOE ORISE internship

April 28, 2025 - Carly Bowling

photo: Dimitrios Vrocharis
Dimitrios Vrocharis

Dimitrios Vrocharis, a Ph.D. student in The University of New Mexico Department of Mechanical Engineering, was selected for a Department of Energy Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (DOE ORISE) fellowship at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to study thermomechanical stresses in additively manufactured parts for rotating detonation combustion.

“I felt extremely proud to have been selected,” Vrocharis said. “Through this internship, I am able to work with leading experts in the field. I am very excited about this opportunity and looking forward to getting started and learning everything I can.”

DOE ORISE internships are highly competitive. Applicants for the program were considered for their experience and understanding of fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, thermal and mechanical stress analysis, data analysis using Python and technical writing skills.

Vrocharis will work under the mentorship of Don Ferguson, a NETL research engineer, studying advanced turbines to characterize unsteady thermal and mechanical stresses in a rotating detonation combustor and surrounding environment through experimental and computational analysis. Ultimately, Vrocharis will work with researchers to develop diagnostic techniques to perform detailed thermal and mechanical stresses. Rotating detonation combustors are a developing technology that has potential to improve thermodynamic efficiency and harness the power of jet-like engines to produce low-emission energy by burning away reactants at extremely high speeds.

At UNM, Vrocharis works as a graduate research assistant with Georgios Koutsakis, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, on material and heat transfer testing research related to rotating detonation combustors.

“This internship offers me the chance to learn as much as possible about this engine and I am eager to bring that knowledge back to my work at UNM as we continue to grow our own research capabilities in the field of rotating detonation combustors,” he said.

Vrocharis earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Western Macedonia in Kozani, Greece in 2023.

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