SURGE fellow researching energetic materials

After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Merced, Jose Guadarrama was interested in thermodynamics and combustion. So it should be no surprise that when he visited Illinois, MechSE professor Nick Glumac’s research to analyze energetic output of structural reactive materials enticed him.

In addition to simulation-gathering, the Department of Defense research also involves experimentation—a quality that Guadarrama seeks in research projects.

"I came here for two programs," the first-year MechSE grad student said. "The first program was the Multicultural Engineering Recruitment for Graduate Education (MERGE) program and then the second one was Community of Scholars. They showed us around. They wanted us to get the feeling of the campus, so they set up appointments with professors; we got to talk with them."

Today, Guadarrama works with Glumac’s research group on air force projects for the Department of Defense. His research and studies are both funded by the Support for the Under-Represented Groups in Engineering (SURGE) fellowship program, which he qualified for when he applied to the MechSE graduate program. SURGE’s mission is to increase the number of underrepresented groups that are equipped to fill engineering faculty and research positions.

As a SURGE fellow, Guadarrama will receive tuition, a fee waiver, and a fellowship stipend the first year. He will receive tuition, a fee waiver, and half-time assistantship funds for the four years that follow.

He said that for the next four years, he hopes to continue working with Glumac’s research group. His first endeavor includes researching energetic materials, which store high loads of chemical energy for use.

"Right now, a Ph.D. student is in the process of finishing his dissertation, so I am just going to continue on this project, which is great," Guadarrama said.

To prospective graduate students in engineering, Guadarrama suggests students match research projects to undergraduate courses they enjoyed in the past.

"Do your undergraduate research. Look at the classes you took and if you liked, let’s say heat transfer, then you go online and search whatever school you want to go to," he said. "Say it’s U of I, then you look at professors working on heat transfer, look at their projects, it’s usually listed on there. If you like it, then send them an email and let them know you are interested."

Although professors may not reply immediately due to their busy schedules, Guadarrama encourages persistence and contacting other graduate students within the same research group to ask questions about the projects and for guidance. He also discourages students from making research decisions based solely on school rankings.

"If you like what they are doing, pursue a graduate degree, and if not, look at another college. But don’t stick to college because of its prestige," Guadarrama said. "Make sure it’s something you want to do for the next two to four years."