Overview

Dr. Asmatulu joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University (WSU) as an assistant professor in 2006, and became an associate professor in 2012 and full professor in 2017 in the same department. Prior to this position at WSU, he had postdoc and R&D experiences at Virginia Tech, University of Connecticut, and Yale University. He is currently working with five PhD, seven MS and four BS students in the same department. He has graduated over 140 MS and PhD students, received over $5M internal and external grants and published more than 500 technical articles with his students and collaborators in his field. To date, his scholarly activities have been cited more than 5,720 times (with h-index 40 and i10-index 131) according to the Google Scholar.

Information

Academic Interests and Expertise

Education

  • Ph.D., Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, August 1997–March 2001
  • M.S., Department of Mining Engineering (MSE concentration), Istanbul Technical University, June 1992–June 1995
  • B.S., Department of Mining Engineering (MSE concentration), Istanbul Technical University, September 1988–June 1992
Areas of Research Interest

Dr. Asmatulu’s research interests include both theoretical and experimental understanding of nanoparticles for solar cells, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and biodiesel production; laminated and sandwich composites for aircraft and wind turbine manufacturing; functionalization and crosslinking of CNT wires; modeling and simulation of solid structures; highly durable nanocomposite thin films for lightning strike prevention, EMI shielding and fire retardancy; electrospun nanofibers for scaffolding, biosensors, structural health monitoring and water splitting; nanocomposite coatings against corrosion, moisture and UV degradation; nanomembranes for waste water filtration; and nanoemulsion and hydrogel-based targeted drug delivery systems.

List of Current Projects

  • “Highly Conductive and Durable Biosensors for Wearable Health Monitoring Systems,” funded by the John A. See Foundation, WSU, Wichita, KS, 2023.
  • Hydrogel-Based Targeted Hormone Therapy for Post Cancer Treatment,” funded by the Flossie E. West Charitable Trust, WSU, Wichita, KS, 2023.
  • “Improving Flame Retardancy of Fiber Reinforced Composites via Modified Fire-Resistant Resins and Metallic Surface Film Coatings,” funded by the TAI-USA Inc.,
  • “Effects of Heat Treatments on 3D Printed Metals/Alloys for Improved Mechanical Properties” sponsored by WSU Nanolab, 2022.
  • “Nano-Capillary-Bridges Control the Adhesion of Ice: Implications for Anti-Icing via Superhydrophobic Coatings,” funded by Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 2021.
  • “Ultrasonic Nanofiber Guidance,” funded by the Kansas Innovation and Technology Enterprise (KITE), 2021.

Current Graduate Students

Md. Shafinur Murad, Abdulhammed Hamzat, Eddie Harrison, Shawn Hughes, Nikhil Paranjpe, Farzana Yeasmin, Omer Abdulaziz, Amr Aly, Purva Todmal, and Fatih Altun.  

Research Lab Information

The nanotechnology research and teaching laboratories were developed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University, and have been actively used for various industry and academic projects. The Nanolab laboratory spaces (1500 ft2) are located in the Wallace Hall 125, and Beggs Hall 137, 139 and 144.  The equipment in this facility includes two electrospinning units, a layer-by-layer coating unit (dipping unit), autoclaves, centrifuges, asylum atomic force microscope (AFM), optical microscopes, corrosion testing units, UV photolithography, oxygen plasma cleaner, AC/DC power units, UV-Vis spectrometer, software-driven optical and fluorescence microscopes, zeta potential/nanosizer, fume hoods, spin coating apparatus, capacitance bridge, shakers, freezers, glove boxes, injection molding unit, pH meters, balances, photograph unit, environmental chamber, UV chamber, hot press, two furnace, oven, shakers and contact angle and surface tension measurement devices. In addition to these, the department has a well-equipped composite/nanocomposite lab that includes DSC, TGA, DMA, Raman Spectroscopy, FTIR, VARTM, composite curing oven, press, rheometer, viscosity meter, C-scan, SEM, three-mill rolling, cryogenic milling, mixers, etc. The equipment are extensively used in the funded projects above, graduate students’ projects, as well as other industry projects. 

Areas of Teaching Interest
  • ME 250 Materials Engineering
  • ME 335 Dynamics for Mechanical Engineers
  • ME 670 Introduction to Nanotechnology
  • ME 667 Mechanical Properties of Materials
  • ME 752 Failure Analysis Methods and Tools
  • ME 753 Advanced Materials for Energy Systems
  • ME 760 Fracture Mechanics
  • ME 844 Advanced Biomaterials
  • ME 865 Corrosion Science and Engineering

 

Publications

Selected Journal Articles

  1. Desai, F.J., Uddin, M.N., Rahman, M.M., and Asmatulu, R. “A Critical Review on Improving Hydrogen Storage Properties of Metal Hydride via Nanostructuring and Integrating Carbonaceous Materials,” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2023 (in press).
  2. Nguyen, N.N., Davani, S., Asmatulu, R., Kappl, M., Berger, R., and Butt, H.J. “Nano-Capillary-Bridges Control the Adhesion of Ice: Implications for Anti-Icing via Superhydrophobic Coatings,” ACS Applied Nano Materials, Vol. 12(5), pp. 19017–19024,
  3. Tanzim, F.S., Subeshan, B., and Asmatulu, R. “Improving the Saline Water Evaporation Rates using Highly Conductive Carbonaceous Materials under Infrared Light for Improved Freshwater Production,” Desalination, 531, pp. 115710, 2022.
  4. Khadak, A., Subeshan, B., and Asmatulu, R. “Studies on De-Icing and Anti-Icing of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites for Aircraft Surfaces using Commercial Multifunctional Permanent Superhydrophobic Coatings,” Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 56, pp. 3078-3094, 2021.
  5. Asmatulu, R., Bollavaram, P.K., Patlolla, V.R., Alarifi, I.M., and Khan, W.S. “Investigating the Effects of Metallic Submicron and Nanofilms on Fiber-Reinforced Composites for Lightning Strike Protection and EMI Shielding,” Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials, Vol. 3, pp. 66-83, 2020.
Grants

List of Current Projects

 

  • “Nanofiber-based Biosensors for the Rapid Detection of PKU Molecules” funded by John See Award Program, 2019.
  • “Re-mineralizing Tooth Cavities through Antibacterial Nanocomposite Materials,” funded by WMREF, 2019.
  • “Highly Durable Superhydrophobic Coatings for Deicing of Aircraft Skins in Harsh Weather Conditions,” funded by the NCAT/KART, 2018.
  • “Superhydrophobic Coatings for Corrosion Mitigation” funded by WSU, 2017.
  • “Hydrogel-based Nanoemulsion Drug Delivery Systems,” funded by the WSU, 2016.
  • “Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures” funded by WSU, 2016.
  • “Emulsion-based Nanofuel Systems for Internal Combustion Engines” funded by Fuel Technologies, 2015.
  • “Electrospun SrTiO3 Nanofibers Incorporated with NiOx Nanoparticles for Improved Water Splitting Efficiency,” funded by NSF EPSCoR, 2015.
  • “Pyrocarbonization of CNT Yarns for Enhanced Physical Properties,” funded by the AFRL, 2015.
Other Interests

Research Interests

Dr. Asmatulu’s research interests include both theoretical and experimental understanding of nanoparticles for solar cells, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and biodiesel production; laminated and sandwich composites for aircraft and wind turbine manufacturing; functionalization and crosslinking of CNT wires; modeling and simulation of solid structures; highly durable nanocomposite thin films for lightning strike prevention, EMI shielding and fire retardancy; electrospun nanofibers for scaffolding, biosensors, structural health monitoring and water splitting; nanocomposite coatings against corrosion, moisture and UV degradation; nanomembranes for waste water filtration; and nanoemulsion and hydrogel-based targeted drug delivery systems.

Additional Information

External Information

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