Staff Directory

Yusu Kim is an M.S. student in Mechanical Engineering who joined the Burke Lab in Spring 2026. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea, in 2025 and completed the Global Access Program at UC Berkeley. Her research interests include applying machine learning to chemical kinetics. During her undergraduate studies, she worked on data-driven turbulence modeling to improve predictions of flow separation around airfoils. After graduation, she continued at GIST as an adjunct researcher, investigating the interpretability of data-augmented turbulence models through Explainable AI methods. She also gained hands-on experience as a research intern at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), where she contributed to the manufacturing and flow testing of rocket engine combustion chambers.

In the Burke Lab, her current research focuses on developing neural network based surrogate models for the MultiScale Informatics (MSI) framework to address challenges associated with the high dimensionality of combustion kinetic mechanisms.

Patrick Singal has been a PhD candidate and research assistant in the Burke Lab since September 2022. He previously earned a BASc in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, graduating with first-class honours. Patrick’s interests include fundamental-level energy research, system design and optimization, and mechatronics. In the long term, he hopes to apply his engineering background towards projects focused on environmental sustainability and the global energy transition.

Past engineering projects are briefly described below and listed in detail at psingal.ca/projects

• Capstone: Thermal management system optimization simulator for heavy-duty EVs (Queen’s University)
• Thesis: CFD simulation of turbulent, compressible flow through rotating detonation engine (Queen’s University)
• Software-automated aeroponic vertical farming system (Queen’s University)
• Low-cost COVID-19 mechanical ventilator (Code Life Ventilator Challenge, 2020)
• NACA0012 airfoil with embedded pressure transducers (Queen’s University and EPFL, Switzerland)

Jonathan Pankauski is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering who joined the Burke lab in the Spring of 2021 as an undergraduate. Jonathan graduated with a B.A. in Chemistry-Biochemistry from Colby College and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University in 2022. During 2018, Jonathan performed computational and experimental studies on the synthesis and kinetics of photolysis for novel carbenes and carbene precursors. In 2019, Jonathan studied the kinetics of atmospherically relevant aqueous Maillard chemistry in organic matrices.

Joe Lee is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering and joined the Burke Lab in the fall of 2020. He joined the group promptly after graduating with a BS from the University of Connecticut. There, Joe majored in Mechanical Engineering, and for his senior design project he worked with Quantum Biopower, a local renewable energy plant. In the summer of 2018, Joe participated in an NSF-funded research program in Nanotechnology at the University of Connecticut; in the summer of 2019, he participated in another NSF-funded research program through the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP) at the University of Minnesota.

Ian is a M.S. Student studying Mechanical Engineering with a focus on energy systems. He joined the Burke Lab at the beginning of 2026. He earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 2025. His research focuses on investigating solid rocket propellants and modeling the diffusion flames that form between the decomposition products of ammonium perchlorate and those of polymeric fuel binders. His previous work in combustion during his undergraduate studies focused on the characterization of ammonia flames, doing experimentation using a counter flow combustion rig.

Ella Kane is a Mechanical Engineering PhD student and joined the Burke Lab in the fall of 2023. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in Spring 2023 with a BS in Physics and Astronomy. Her undergraduate research focused on the areas of exoplanets and supernovae. She led an undergraduate research group that used the Allegheny Observatory to conduct observations and verify exoplanet candidates as part of NASA’s TESS Mission. Her supernova research focused on the measurement and analysis of Type Ia Supernova spectra to help refine their use as standard candles for cosmological measurement. Switching fields in her graduate studies, she hopes to combine her experience using physical principles and data analysis with practical engineering techniques.

Julien Carreiro is a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering, joining the Burke Lab in Fall 2026 after earning his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics from Union College. As an undergraduate, he participated in several research projects, including an NSF-funded study investigating the effects of structural flexibility on turbulent flow over isolated roughness elements in a water channel. He presented this work at the 2025 APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Annual Conference, and the resulting journal article is expected to be published in 2026. Building on his background in fluid mechanics, Julien is excited to study high-pressure combustion and explore the potential of renewable fuels for future technologies.