Graduate Student of the Month

Demarco’s research focus area is in wastewater treatment, removing antibiotics from swine wastewater using a constructed wetland system for effluent polishing after Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) treatment. Demarco comes to K-State from Brazil. She enjoys camping, paddle boarding and spending time with her dog, Blue Moon. Brazilian barbecue is her favorite food and she wants to go on an African safari. Stacy Hutchinson is her advisor.

Molecular modeling based on ab initio and machine learning methods are Deng’s research focus areas. He is developing neural network potential (NNP) based on the database generated from ab initio calculation. Molecular dynamic simulations for different systems are then performed using NNP, which could achieve both higher accuracy and lower calculation expense. Deng is from Qinhuangdao, which is in the Hebei province of China. Singing, playing the piano and guitar, biking and running are his favorite hobbies. He enjoys eating steak and hopes to hold a small concert. Deng’s advisor is Bin Liu.

Fernando’s research area is in resource recovery from wastewater. Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are short-chain organic acids naturally generated from complex organic compounds through intermediate fermentation reactions during anaerobic digestion. Fernando’s research is developing a modified fermentation biotechnology platform from swine wastewater coupled with membrane filtration and electrochemistry. The recovery of VFAs from wastewater based on microbial reactions is becoming a promising research and development portfolio in the future due to its likely favorable life cycle and techno-economic footprint. Fernando is from Kalutara, Sri Lanka. Her favorite food is string hoppers with coconut sambal and potato curry. She enjoys crocheting, cooking, baking and indoor gardening. She would like to learn professional dressmaking. Prathap Parameswaran is Fernando’s advisor.

Thiagarajan’s research focuses on supporting model-based safety and security assessment of high assurance systems. Model-based development is one approach that has been an effective development practice because of the abstraction mechanism that hides the complicated lower-level details of software and hardware components. His research comprises numerous contributions that support a model analysis framework for Analysis and Design Language, or AADL, that aims to help developers design and assure safety and security requirements and demonstrate system conformance to specific categories of standards. Thiagarajan is from Chennai, India, and enjoys reading books and watching movies. His favorite food is biryani. He wants to climb a 14er by foot and build an exoskeleton. His advisor is John Hatcliff.

Peterson’s research area is in short-range radar systems and applications. He is researching compact radar system development from block diagram to field applications and testing new system architectures to allow for short range target detection and identification. Peterson is currently focusing on agricultural applications to detect various crop metrics such as herbicide damage, crop height and yield estimates. He is from Manhattan, Kansas, and enjoys working on home automation. His favorite food is rhubarb pie, and his top bucket list item is to run a marathon. Don Gruenbacher is his advisor.

Bisheh’s research area is in data analytics, machine learning, supply chain management and operations research. He focuses on applying machine learning modeling for image segmentation tasks of various applications, such as additive manufacturing monitoring, agricultural soil cover classification and laser-scribing quality control. His proposed machine learning framework uses different models, such as gradient boosting classifier and deep convolutional neural network to proactively improve and automate processes and reduce costs. He has been enjoying teaching introduction to analytics and will be working as an operations and supply chain data scientist after graduation. Bisheh is from Iran and he enjoys outdoor activities, taekwondo, swimming, running, basketball and soccer. His advisor is Shing Chang.

Andurkar’s research area is in additive manufacturing of metals and radiation damage. He is currently investigating the effects of irradiation on additively manufactured metals for next generation nuclear reactors. Studying the damage occurring in microstructure of additively manufactured and wrought metals post neutron and ion irradiation. Characterization methods include hardness testing, nano-indentation, and scanning electron microscopy – all performed before and after irradiation for both wrought and additively manufactured Inconel 625 material. Andurkar comes to Manhattan from Mumbai, India. He enjoys playing and watching soccer, exploring new places, listening to music and cooking. He plans on visiting all seven wonders of the world and enjoys eating Indian curry with naan and buffalo wings. Scott Thompson is his advisor.