Members

About Us

The Combustion and Energy Research (COMER) laboratory was established in 2010 by Dr. Jeongmin Ahn in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Syracuse University. Since that time a wide range of combustion and energy research projects have been undertaken.

The primary research goal of lab members is to further the understanding and application of energy conversion and conservation. Combining a fundamental knowledge of thermodynamics, chemisty, heat transfer, and combustion allows for a wide range of projects related to harvesting, sustaining and converting energy. Ultimately, each research opportunity sets out to improve the way society utilizes energy while also building a more sustainable world. 

Current Members

Dr. Jeongmin Ahn (Director)

Dr. Alexander Hartwell (Ph. D)

Cole Wilhelm (Manager, Ph.D. student)

Aliza Willsey (Ph.D. student)

Kassidy Fields (Ph.D. student)

Harrison Kayton (M.S. student)

Nathaniel Slabaugh (M.S. student)

Andrew Vanderwege (B.S. student)

Former Members

Ph.D.

Dr. Thomas Welles: B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, 2017, M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2019, Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2022 (now Senior Mechanical Engineer at Lockheed Martin)

Dr. Ryan Milcarek: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2014, M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2017, M.S. in Energy Systems Engineering, 2017, Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2018 (now Tenure-Track Assistant Professor at Arizona State University)

Dr. Ryan Falkenstein-Smith​: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2013, M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2015, Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2017 (Now NRC Fellow at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST))

Dr. Wei Liu: Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2016 (now Data Scientist at Norfork Southern Corp.)

Dr. Pingying Zeng: M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2012, Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2014

Dr. Kang Wang: M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2012, Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2013 (now Reforming Engineer at Watt Fuel Cell Corp.)

M.S.

Alexander Metcalf: B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, 2022, M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2023

Mengyuan Chu: M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2018 (now Ph.D. Student in Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University)

Vincent DeBiase: M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2018 (now at SRC Inc.)

Michael Garrett: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2016, M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2018 (now at Siemens)

Matthew Rushby: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2016, M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2018

Amrish Baskaran: M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2016 (now Mechanical Engineer at JMA Wireless)

B.S.

Fred Evan Schaffer (B.S. student)

John Steele (B.S. student)

Daniel Oluwalana (B.S. student)

James Pieri (B.S. student)

Nataliya Onufriychuk: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2020

Breezy Knight: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2015 (now Mechanical Engineer Asc. at Lockheed Martin)

Tyler Culp: B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, 2015 (now Ph.D. Student in Chemical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University)

Alexander Lafontaine: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2014 (now Engineer at Waterfront Mechanical Engineering)

Brian Caha: B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, 2013

Joshua Huizinga: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2013 (now Energy Engineer at Bright Power, Inc.)

Jordan Keebaugh: B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, 2013 (now Chief of Healthcare and Technology Management at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

Nancy Menapace: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2012 (now Mechanical Engineer at Woodward, Inc.)

James Schwartz: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2012 (now Mechanical Engineer at MYT Works, Inc.)

Christopher Hoffman: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, 2012

High School

Alex Clarke, Fayetteville-Manlius High School (now Undergraduate Student at University of Oxford, UK)