Joseph Powers

  • Professor
  • Dept. of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering
  • 372 Fitzpatrick Engr.
  • Notre Dame, IN 46556
  • (574) 631-5978
  • Email: powers@nd.edu
  • Website
  • B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1983
  • M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1985
  • Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988

Joseph M. Powers's research focuses on theoretical and computational modeling of combustion processes, with an emphasis on high speed combustion and propulsion systems. Work which has particular relevance to energy systems involves developing fundamental computational strategies for modeling challenging multi-scale problems in which detailed chemical kinetics interacts with fluid mechanics. Such problems have relevance for the accurate determination of ignition, stability, wave propagation, pollution formation, and energy efficiency in a wide variety of devices ranging from furnaces to internal combustion engines. As present day computational hardware is insufficient to truly capture these events for engineering purposes, this research, supported by NSF and NASA, focuses on developing a rigorous mathematical theory, based on the theory of invariant manifolds, to systematically filter the fine scale events while capturing the key dynamics of engineering relevance. Previous published work has shown the approach is viable in 1) ozone decomposition, 2) hydrogen-oxygen combustion and 3) methane-air combustion. Prof. Powers teaches Fundamentals of Combustion at the graduate level and Thermodynamics and Intermediate Thermodynamics at the undergraduate level.

Current Energy Related Research Grants

  • Powers, J. M., Paolucci, S., Sommese, A. J., and Wampler, C. W., 2007, “Slow Invariant Manifolds for Spatially Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous Combustion Systems with Detailed Kinetics,” National Science Foundation, 36 months, $299,998. (recommended for funding, final approval pending).
  • Powers, J. M., and Paolucci, S., 2007, “Advanced Multi-Scale Computational Methods for Hypersonic Propulsion,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 36 months, $361,154.