À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ

Research Interests:

Zhichao’s research interests include computation material science and chemistry. He is interested
in using machine learning methods to better understand nanoscale interactions between reacting
materials. Applications of his work include the interactions of high energy particles with lunar
regolith to determine the surface products expected on the moon.

Current Projects:

• Data-driven discovery of water production materials using lunar regolith

Anqi Wang is a Post Doctoral fellow in the Laboratory for Emerging Energy Research. He completed
his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (Nanjing University, China) and Ph.D. in Bioengineering
(University of Missouri - Columbia, USA).

Research Interests:

Anqi’s research interests include developing novel combustible materials for energy generation and
harvesting applications. He is interested in determining the underlying reaction mechanisms of
metallic fuels to better understand and control solid fuel reactions. He is also interested in additive
manufacturing of reactive materials using novel aerogel methods.

Current Projects:

• Additive manufacturing of graphene and metal composites
• Energy generation using nanothermite combustion
• Recycling and extraction of metals

About Cheolhee Shin

Research interests:

Cheolhee’s research interests include the combustion of particle-laden fuels to enhance reaction properties. He is interested in evaluating novel flame mixtures and flame additives to improve reaction energy and reduce the production of harmful byproducts.

Current projects:

• Aluminum particle combustion in a methane-air flame
• Ethylene-ethanol dual fuel combustion

About professor Wen

Professor John Wen is the director of University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Laboratory for Emerging Energy Research (LEER). He joined the department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering in 2008 and is currently cross-appointed at Chemical Engineering at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ.

He graduated from the University of Toronto (MASc 2002, PhD 2005). He has more than three years of research experience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he worked with the Green group (in the department of Chemical Engineering) and professor John Vander Sande’s research group (in the department of Material Science and Engineering).

He also has over eight years of professional experience in the development and design of marine, automotive and aerospace engines.

About Yiqi Zhang

Yiqi Zhang is a PhD candidate (started September 2020). She studies core-shell nanoparticles and fabrication of light reflection materials for solar energy harvest.

Research interests:

Navid’s research interests include advancing in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies for space exploration. His research centers on extracting pure metals from lunar regolith to enable sustainable energy production and support the establishment of a long-term human presence on the Moon. He aims to develop efficient and scalable methods for future lunar and planetary operations. He is also interested in nanotechnology, with particular emphasis on the synthesis and application of nanoparticles

Current projects:

• Extraction and recycling of metals from lunar regolith and waste metallic materials
• Synthesis and characterization of energetic nanomaterials

Research interest

Charles’s interests include the development of novel nanothermite materials for high energy generation applications. He is interested in finding alternative and renewable fuel sources to reduce the use of fossil fuels and other unsustainable products.

Current projects

• Synthesis of core-shell nanothermite materials
• Investigation of nanothermite combustion behaviour using thin film combustion

Research Interests:

Connor’s research interests include In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) of lunar and Martian materials to support the development of lunar and Martian infrastructure. He is interested in developing new technologies for scalable and sustainable methods on the moon and Mars for future applications. Specifically, he is interested in creating reactive thermite materials for energy harvesting, construction and radiation shielding. He is also interested in the systems design and business case modeling of space applications to model potential opportunities and gaps in current technologies.

Current Projects:

• Development of reactive lunar and Martian regolith-based thermite materials for sustainable lunar energy generation, additive manufacturing, and radiation shielding
• Systems modeling of scalable lunar infrastructure
• Reduced gravity parabolic flight test to research the effects of reduced gravity on lunar regolith physical processing
• Mechanical designer of a new analogue lunar medical bay at The Space Analogue for the Moon & Mars (SAM)