News
News and updates from the Computational Gas Dynamics and Plasma Physics Lab at the University of North Dakota.
NASA EPSCoR R3 Award Supports Kinetic Modeling of Radiative Heating
Our group has received a NASA EPSCoR Rapid Response Research (R3) award for the project “Kinetic Modeling of Radiative Heating at NASA Ames Electric Arc Shock Tube Test Conditions.”
The one-year project will develop kinetic modeling capabilities to investigate nonequilibrium flow, plasma physics, and radiative heating under conditions relevant to atmospheric entry. The research will focus on computational modeling of the extreme thermochemical and plasma environments produced in the NASA Ames Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST), supporting improved understanding and prediction of radiative heating for atmospheric entry applications.
Alseny Diallo Completes Summer Research Visit at RPI
Alseny Diallo completed a summer research visit at the Scientific Computation Research Center (SCOREC), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) from June 22 to July 24, 2026, supported by the NSF EPSCoR Research Fellows award.
Hosted by Prof. Mark Shephard and Prof. Jacob Merson, the visit focused on Comet code development, with an emphasis on the Particle-in-Cell (PIC) method for low-temperature plasma simulation, advancing scalable computational approaches for high-performance computing.
Graduate Students Attend 5th Low-Temperature Plasma Summer School
Graduate students Alseny Diallo and Wei Guo attended the 5th US Low Temperature Plasma Summer School, held June 15–19, 2026, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, with travel support from the North Dakota NASA EPSCoR Travel Grant.
The summer school provided opportunities to learn about fundamental and emerging topics in low-temperature plasma science and to engage with researchers and students in the broader plasma community.
Learn more about the 5th US Low Temperature Plasma Summer School →
Laina, Wei, and Fahim Earn M.S. Degrees
Congratulations to Laina Behrenbrinker, Wei Guo, and Fahim Shahriyar on earning their M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of North Dakota in Spring 2026.
They will continue their studies as Ph.D. students at the University of Minnesota, University of Kentucky, and University of Arizona, respectively.
We are proud of their accomplishments and wish them continued success in their future careers.
NSF Award Supports GPU-Accelerated Low-Temperature Plasma Modeling
The Computational Gas Dynamics and Plasma Physics Lab received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the EPSCoR Research Fellows program to advance GPU-accelerated kinetic modeling of low-temperature plasma.
The project will develop scalable particle simulation methods for low-temperature plasma modeling, with applications in electric space propulsion and microelectronics manufacturing.
Laina Awarded DoD SMART Scholarship
Congratulations to Laina Behrenbrinker on being awarded the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) SMART Scholarship in Spring 2026.
The scholarship will support Laina as she continues her Ph.D. studies at the University of Minnesota.
We are proud of Laina’s accomplishment and look forward to her continued success in her doctoral studies.
Casia Steinhaus Named UND's First Astronaut Scholar
Congratulations to Casia Steinhaus, who has been named the first Astronaut Scholar from the University of North Dakota. Casia is a rising senior majoring in Physics and Mathematics.
As an Astronaut Scholar, Casia will receive financial support, professional development opportunities, mentorship, and opportunities to represent UND at the Astronaut Scholar Technical Conference. We are incredibly proud of Casia and her outstanding achievements in undergraduate research. Congratulations, Casia!