ME Student Award News

Gayatri Cuddalorepatta, a Ph.D. candidate working with Professor Abijit Dasgupta, was recently awarded the 2007 Charles Hutchins Educational Grant from the Surface Mount Technology Association (SMTA) and Circuits Assembly magazine. Her research, “Cyclic Plasticity vs Cyclic Creep Fatigue of SnAgCu (SAC) Solder: A Micromechanics Approach,” won the recognition in a competitive field of nine other candidates for the award. Cuddalorepatta’s project includes experimental studies and fundamental mechanics-based modeling to quantify the behavior of various candidate materials for Pb-free solders.

The $5000 grant is awarded annually to a graduate-level student pursuing a degree and working on thesis research in electronic assembly, electronics packaging, or a related field. Cuddalorepatta has been invited to the conference to attend the sessions and present her project. The award will be presented in SMTA Annual Meeting and International conference on October 10th in Orlando, Florida.

Cuddalorepatta has a B.E. in mechanical engineering from Osmania University (India), and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from State University of New York, Binghamton. In her professional pursuits, Cuddalorepatta hopes to work in the field of electronics packaging. She plans to join the academic world to catalyze studies in nano-scale material modeling and experimental techniques applied to diverse material systems in electronic packaging. She has particular interest in involving research teams from multiple disciplines to address issues faced in practical applications involving electronic packages and systems to develop more efficient and robust electronic packages.

Cuddalorepatta was also the runner-up for the 2007 Dr. Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement awarded by Maryland’s Graduate School. Her research seeks to facilitate the elimination of lead from electronics. The focus of her research is the in-depth understanding of micro- and nanoscale damage accumulation mechanisms in lead-free solders. Her research has received numerous honors including the Future Faculty Fellowship Award, the 2007-2008 Amelia Earhart International Award, and a best student presenter award at the spring 2007 CALCE technical review meetings in recognition of and support for her research.

Undergraduate research by Mechanical Engineering undergrad students Alvin Yew, Dan Chinn, and Elvis Nditafon received an honorable mention in the Student Paper B.S. level Competition at the 2007 ASME Bioengineering Conference held in Keystone, Colorado in June. Their paper titled "Thermal Therapy Protocols for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia" won the mention in the “Solid Mechanics, Design, and Rehabilitation” category. Awards were based on averages of review scores obtained for paper and presentation. The research was directed by Dr. Thamire of Mechanical Engineering.

Published July 13, 2007