March 31, 2023
By Chloe Arrington

Two faculty members and two students from the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering have been named recipients of the 2023 Sigma Xi Research Awards.  

Srinivas Garimella, Hightower Chair in Engineering and professor, Seung Woo Lee, associate professor, Ph.D. graduate Rodrigo Gonzalez and graduate student Madeline Garell have been recognized for their outstanding research achievements by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. 

The Georgia Tech chapter of Sigma Xi has honored Georgia Tech faculty and students for their research annually since 1947. There are three categories for both faculty and students: faculty categories are Sustained Research Award, Best Paper Award, and Young Faculty Award. Student categories are Best Ph.D. Thesis Award, Best M.S. Thesis Award, and the Best Undergraduate Research Award.  

Sustained Research Award 

Srinivas Garimella
Hightower Chair in Engineering and Professor  
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering 
Georgia Institute of Technology 

Garimella is the recipient of the Sustained Research Award. This award recognizes significant, high quality, innovative research contributions that brought widespread recognition to the researcher, their laboratory, and the Institute. 

Garimella began at Georgia Tech in 2003 as an associate professor. He serves as the director of the Sustainable Thermal Systems Laboratory. His research is in sustainable energy systems, such as absorption and vapor compression heat pumps, natural refrigerant space-conditioning systems, and automotive climate control/propulsion cooling systems. His research also includes phase-change in microchannel and compact heat exchangers, heat, and mass transfer in binary mixtures, and supercritical/trans critical fluid flow and heat transfer. 

Best Faculty Paper 

Seung Woo Lee
Associate Professor  
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering 
Georgia Institute of Technology 

Lee is the recipient of a Best Faculty Paper award for his publication Elastomeric electrolytes for high-energy solid-state lithium batteries which looks at alternatives for conventional lithium-ion batteries to combat inherent instabilities caused by the liquid electrolyte component. Lee’s paper explores a new technology that uses rubber electrolytes and improves the functionality of the battery. 

Lee joined the Woodruff School as an assistant professor in 2013. He serves as the director of the Energy Storage and Conversion Laboratory (ESCL). His research focuses on understanding electrochemical energy conversion and storage mechanisms as well as on designing electrochemical systems that can link renewable energy sources with various end-user applications. The development of these technologies is a critical factor in supporting new transportation technologies, load-leveling for solar and stationary power applications, and fast-evolving portable electronic devices.  

Best Ph.D. Thesis

Rodrigo Gonzalez 
Faculty
Diego Portales University, Chile 

Gonzalez is a recipient of a Best Ph.D. Thesis award for his paper Development and Prediction of Sustainable Strategies for Integrating Solar Energy with Desalination. Gonzalez’s thesis proposed a framework that integrates thermodynamics, geographical information systems, and machine learning for developing sustainable strategies to integrate solar energy with desalination. This framework could contribute to the development of a sustainable industry with reduced CO2 emissions and brine rejection. 

Gonzalez received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech in 2022. During his time at Tech, he was a Fulbright Scholar advised by Associate Professor Marta Hatzell. After graduating, Gonzalez returned to his home country of Chile to join the Diego Portales University and is the current coordinator of the thermodynamics and heat transfer courses. 

In addition, Associate Professor Shannon Yee is the co-advisor to another Best Ph.D. Thesis recipient, Shawn Gregory. 

Best M.S. Thesis

Madeline Garell 
George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering 
Georgia Institute of Technology 

Garell is the recipient of a Best M.S. Thesis award for her paper Application of reverse electrodialysis power for oxygen generation in undersea diving. Garell is currently a third-year mechanical engineering Ph.D. student studying water transport in membranes. She is advised by Associate Professor Marta Hatzell. 

About Sigma Xi 

Founded in 1886 at Cornell university, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society is the honor society of scientists and engineers that recognizes scientific achievement. The Georgia Tech Sigma Xi Club was founded in 1946 and later established as a chapter of the national Society of the Sigma Xi in 1953. The Georgia Tech Chapter of Sigma Xi awards memberships to students, faculty and post-docs who have displayed excellence in scientific research and currently has over 250 members.