by: James WengerPosted on:

U Penn Undergraduate Receives Scholarship

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The Philadelphia Section of the STLE is pleased to award a $1,000 Scholarship to Daniel Delghandi, an undergraduate student at U Penn.

Left to Right: STLE Member Tom O’Brien, Scholarship Winner Daniel Delghandi, STLE Member Bill Tuszynski (Not Pictured Prof. Rob Carpick)

The Philadelphia Section of the STLE is pleased to award a $1,000 Scholarship to Daniel Delghandi, an undergraduate student at U Penn. Delghandi is a junior in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM), and is conducting research under the direction of Prof. Rob Carpick. MEAM is an ABET-accredited program and is a highly selective and rigorous program, ranked in the top 20 by US News & World Report. Daniel is excelling academically, with a grade point average of 4.0 out of 4.0.

Delghandi was selected to be part of the Rachleff Scholars Program at Penn, a selective honors program in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences for students showing an interest in and aptitude for research. Delghandi joined the Carpick Group in the Spring 2021 semester to work on a project sponsored by the US Department of Energy, and led by Pixelligent LLC, a company commercializing nanocrystals for multiple applications. In his project, Daniel is part of a team examining the synergy between ZrO2 nanocrystals and commercial anti-wear agents for lubricant applications, including in wind turbine gear boxes. Utilizing the MTM-SLIM to grow tribofilms with these additive-containing oils, Delghandi uses traction data from the MTM, images taken from the SLIM camera, and further WLI to characterize tribofilm growth-rates and overall tribofilm thickness. From these data, he is able to determine which oils exhibit the most preferable traits for their application to wind turbine gearboxes.

In addition to his academic and research skills, Delghandi is highly proficient in analyzing scientific literature, and has already developed his presentation skills through presentations to the Carpick group and to a multidisciplinary team of collaborators from industry and national laboratories. Daniel looks forward to pursuing a career in engineering research in the future.