Engineering undergrad wins presentation prize

Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science undergraduate Jerry Wang has won first prize in the 2013 ASME Old Guard Oral Presentation Competition at the organization’s Student Professional Development Conference. ASME, founded as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, sponsored the competition on April 20, 2013, at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Old Guard Presentation competitions emphasize on the ability to deliver clear, concise and effective presentations on engineering topics.

Wang, a Yale senior double-majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics & Physics, spoke for 15 minutes on the topic of his Mechanical Engineering senior project: “Lagrangian Studies on Inertial Particles in Two-Dimensional Flows.” His work was completed as part of a Yale Mechanical Engineering degree program in which undergraduates pursue, and receive credit for, independent research.

Wang’s research, conducted under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science Nick Ouellette, analyzed the flow properties of inertial particles, or particles so large that they cannot readily adhere to the flow field of the fluid in which they are immersed. Research in this field has applications across disciplines – from the study of wind-borne pollen and pollutants to the alignment of paper fibers in paper pulp to the flow patterns of ice crystals in rain clouds.

Upon graduation, Wang plans to attend MIT as a graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering program, pursuing a Ph.D. in theoretical microfluidics. He will compete in the ASME international competition for Yale at the International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition later in the year in San Diego.