People
Faculty
Georgios Koutsakis
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 2023
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2022
Diploma, University of Western Macedonia, Greece, 2016
Dr. Koutsakis is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at The University of New Mexico. He developed techniques to maximize in-cylinder heat insulation while ensuring coating durability under the extreme and unsteady conditions of a diesel engine. His expertise was recognized in 2020 when he received the Society of Automotive Engineers Myers Award for Outstanding Student and Young Professional Paper. He served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University and as a Visiting Scientist at the University of Virginia. His research then was centered on characterizing and modeling radiative and conductive heat transfer of high-temperature radiation barrier coatings and thermal protection systems, with applications ranging from advanced gas turbines to spacecrafts. He is a member of the SAE, ASME and AIAA. Prof. Koutsakis’ current research focuses on problems involving heat transfer, materials science, and fracture mechanics, particularly in the contexts of propulsion and power generation systems.
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Graduate Students
Dimitrios Vrocharis
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
Dimitrios works on performance and heat transfer of the gas-wall interface in rotating detonation engines, including dynamic heat-insulation concepts and the flow and heat transfer characteristics of additively manufactured mini channels.
Mario Cestari
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
Mario’s research investigates how thermal barrier coatings can improve the durability and thermodynamic performance of rotating detonation engine combustors, aiming to enable longer test runs under extreme conditions.
Ioannis (Giannis) Takouridis
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering
Giannis studies the durability of thermal barrier coatings in rotating detonation engines, combining heat transfer modeling with fracture mechanics to predict coating fatigue and failure.
Micah Wolbrecht
M.S. Student, Mechanical Engineering
Micah’s focus in the lab is on fatigue damage modeling of ceramic matrix composites across varying failure mechanisms, paired with developing a high-throughput experimental test rig that exposes these materials to RDE environments.
Undergraduate Students
Brendan Canales
Mechanical Engineering, Senior
Brendan works on LabVIEW development for the HADES RDE to support experiments and operation.
Luis Castro
Mechanical Engineering, Junior
Diego Aguayo Quintana
Mechanical Engineering, Senior
Diego works on CAD modeling and cooling system design for the RDE facility.
Research Affiliates
Athanasios Skevas
Ph.D. Student, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Research Affiliate, University of New Mexico
Athanasios works on inverse heat conduction in multilayer walls, including partial singular value decomposition methods for recovering surface conditions from interior measurements.
Alumni
Master’s Students
- Perla Salinas (2026)
Past Visitors
- Christos Koutsouras (2026)
- Emiliano Frayre (2024)
- Marielly Rodriguez Gauthier (2024)
Undergraduate Alumni
- Jasmine Buenviaje (2026)
- Logan Bermudez (2026)
- Alejandro Ramirez De Jesus (2026)
- Jeremy Williams (2026)
- Natalie Zepeda (2026)
- Angelo Flores (2025)
- Andreas Chacon (2025)
- Alberto Perez (2024)
- Gerardo Jimenez (2024)
- Micah Watkins (2024)
- Jason Lu (2024)