SESL Lead
Dr. Krishna Shah Krishna Shah, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and leads the research at Sustainable Energy Systems Lab. He has authored/co-authored more than 20 articles published in peer reviewed journals. He has been recognized with awards and honors for his contribution in research as well as towards promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM. This includes being invited to participate in a workshop at University of California, Berkeley as one of the 30 Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering. Besides research, mentoring and teaching, he enjoys cooking and learned to play piano for a bit. CV Email: krishna.shah@ua.edu |
Graduate Students
Skylar Jordan - Ph.D. B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama Skylar Jordan is a graduate student at UA, both in mechanical engineering and business administration. He is currently working on developing an electrochemical-thermal-electrical coupled multiscale modeling framework to study macroscale effects in battery packs. Soon, he plans to apply this experience in developing multiscale multiphysics models for next-gen batteries. In his free time, Skylar enjoys hiking, reading, and hanging out with friends and family. Email: smjordan1@crimson.ua.edu |
Parisa Akhtari Zavareh - Ph.D. B.Sc. and M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya Parisa Akhtari Zavareh is a doctoral student at UA. She has prior research experience in mechanical design and manufacturing resulting in journal publications. Currently, she is conducting research on li-ion batteries using simulations and experiments to improve their life, performance, and safety. Besides research, she plays tennis, enjoys mountain climbing, camping in nature, and socializing. Email: pakhtarizavareh@crimson.ua.edu |
Isaac Legarreta - Ph.D.
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas - El Paso Isaac Legarreta is a remote doctoral student at UA. His current research endeavors are centered on the cutting-edge advancements of clean hydrogen production technologies. He began his career as an Engineering Research Associate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), working primarily on projects aimed at countering weapons of mass destruction. Presently, as an Equipment Stress Engineer, at Bechtel, he uses FEA software to perform thermal, structural, and seismic analyses of nuclear process equipment. In his free time, Isaac enjoys spending time with his family and friends, cooking, and watching sports. Email: ilegarreta@crimson.ua.edu |
Harsha Vaddireddy - Ph.D.
M.S. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Oklahoma State University Harsha Vaddireddy is a part time doctoral student in mechanical engineering at UA. He is working currently at Cadence Design Systems Inc. as Product Engineer 2. He primarily works on developing CFD models of data center and electronic equipment to predict thermal and airflow behaviors. His thesis research for his Master's in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Oklahoma State University focused on developing machine learning technique to predict turbulent flows. Outside of his Ph.D. and work, Harsha enjoys playing snooker with friends, going to the gym, and watching movies. Email: hvaddireddy@crimson.ua.edu |
Owen Schreiber - M.S. B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama Owen Schreiber is a masters student in mechanical engineering, SESL’s experimental lab manager, and Engineering Manager of UA’s BattChallenge team. His thesis is focused on computational modeling of batteries and developing machine learning models to study the parametrization of batteries. Over the summer, Owen was selected for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy High Performance Computing Internship, where he worked at Sandia National Labs on developing a mesoscale model to simulate the battery electrode drying process. In his free time, Owen enjoys backpacking, spending time with friends, and playing the banjo. Email: coschreiber@crimson.ua.edu |
Undergraduate Students
Lukas Kiesewetter - Junior Lukas Kiesewetter is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, a member of the Randall Research Scholars Program, and the Vehicle Systems Integration Lead for UA's BattChallenge team. Lukas plans to pursue his M.S. through UA's Accelerated Master's Program. In his research, Lukas is currently working on modelling battery and flight dynamics for fixed-wing electric aircraft using MATLAB. In October 2023, he published a review article which presents a holistic analysis of various aircraft configurations and propulsion system architectures proposed for Advanced Air Mobility applications. He has also worked on assembling experimental coin cells and running tests on Li-ion batteries for SESL. In his free time, Lukas enjoys spending time with friends, watching sports, and working out. Email: lkiesewetter@crimson.ua.edu |
Chloe Crooks - Junior
Chloe Crooks is a junior in mechanical engineering student at UA. She is currently pursuing research regarding multi-state, multi-domain battery modelling. In her free time she enjoys music and is the station manager of WVUA-FM. She is also a member of the Phi Sigma Rho Sorority. Email: cecrooks@crimson.ua.edu |
John Perdue - Junior
John Perdue is a junior mechanical engineering student at UA. He has worked as a co-op of Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa and is participating in the STEM path to MBA program. He is currently pursuing research regarding battery parameter estimation using machine learning. In his free time, John enjoys live music, cooking, reading, and playing tabletop games. Email: jmperdue1@crimson.ua.edu |
Sage McCann - Junior Sage McCann is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering and German while earning a minor in liberal arts through the University's Blount Scholars Program. She has worked as a Co-op student at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International and is also a member of the International German Student Exchange Program (Two Steps Ahead) in which she will go to Germany for a year and complete one semester of study along with one semester of engineering work in the automotive industry. Sage enjoys volunteering/donating to the local animal shelter, spending time with friends, traveling, and solving sudoku puzzles. Email: smccann@crimson.ua.edu |
Jadyn Kiezer - Sophomore Jadyn Kiezer is a sophomore in the Aerospace and Engineering Mechanics department at UA. He is a recipient of the Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) scholarship. He is currently assisting in building experimental setups for SESL and conducting research on all-electric and hybrid-electric aircraft. Email: jkiezer@crimson.ua.edu |
Former Students
Justin Ahrens - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
John Yordy - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
Abbie Eidson - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
Anna Eidson - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
Kara Alexander - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
John Yordy - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
Abbie Eidson - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
Anna Eidson - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA
Kara Alexander - B.S. Mechanical Engineering student at UA