Our Team
Lab Director
Dr. Dumitrache is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University starting in August 2022.
After receiving his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University in 2017, Dr. Dumitrache worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Ecole CentraleSupelec in Paris (2018-2019) carrying out research on the characterization of nanosecond discharges used for plasma assisted combustion. This was followed a by a research scientists (CSIII) appointment at the National Institute for Lasers Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR) in Romania (2020-2022) where he worked on laser ignition of engines and laser plasma spectroscopy.
His current research at Colorado State University is focusing on improving the performance of aerospace propulsion systems using tools such as plasma-assisted combustion, ultrafast laser diagnostics and computational fluid dynamics.
PhD Students
Mozhdeh Hooshyar is a 3rd-year PhD student, holding a Master’s Degree in Space Engineering from the University of Pisa. Her research focuses on advancing plasma-assisted combustion technologies for rocket engines. She is developing a a multi-physics simulation code capable of modeling femtosecond filamentation by integrating quantum mechanics with plasma kinetics and fluid dynamics.Through her work, she aims to contribute to the development of more efficient propulsion systems using optical plasma.
Manav Sharma is a 2nd-year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on plasma-assisted combustion and advanced laser diagnostics, particularly in hydrogen burners, to enhance efficiency and reduce harmful emissions. Passionate about understanding complex processes, Manav aims to develop innovative solutions for optimizing industrial systems. He has a strong interest in teaching and plans to pursue a career as a professor. During his master’s, he contributed to a Department of Energy-funded project, gaining expertise in laser diagnostics and advanced combustion strategies.
Justin Loconzolo is a 1st-year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. His current research focuses on the development of a femtosecond-initiated continous optical discharge. His work will contribute to the development of a plasma-based active control method for flame stabilization in high-speed aerospace propulsion engines.
Master Students
Riley Duffens is a 2nd year MSc student; he is working to improve hypersonic propulsion systems. In 2024 he graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science. His research focuses on the investigation on improving combustion efficiency and mixing in solid fuel ramjet engines. This phenomenon is being analyzed with the CSU supersonic indraft wind tunnel at the Powerhouse Energy Campus.
Zachary is a 1st year MSc student working on converting a natural gas staged combustion burner to a hydrogen-powered burner using plasma-assisted combustion technology. His work aims to contribute to the development of cleaner, more efficient combustion systems for future energy applications. Zachary is particularly interested in combustion diagnostics, renewable energy, and the design of experimental systems.
Christian is a 2nd year Master Plan B student affiliated with the Aerospace Propulsion and Diagnostics Laboratory. Under Dr. Dumitrache’s mentorship he is helping the department migrate its computational teaching and lab resources from MATLAB to Python, converting course code into reusable, well-documented Python modules and Jupyter notebooks to improve accessibility and reproducibility for students and faculty.
Undergraduate Students
Jacob is a 4th year undergraduate student conducting his Senior Design Project at the Aerospace and Propulsion Diagnostics Laboratory. His research is focused on developing strategies for parallelizing the lab’s custom-made hypersonic code, APDL-CFD.
Jason is a 4th year undergraduate student conducting his Senior Design Project at the Aerospace and Propulsion Diagnostics Laboratory. He conducts experimental research on boundary layer stabilization in transonic flows using gas injection.
Alumni
Seth Wilson graduated with an MSc degree from the Aerospace Propulsion and Diagnostics Laboratory in Spring 2025. His research work was on studying the characteristics of femtosecond filaments for laser ignition applications. Seth currently works as a Design Engineer for Ursa Major Technologies.
Eli House graduated with a MSc degree from the Aerospace Diagnostics Laboratory in Fall 2024. His research work was to extend the capabilities of our APDL-CFD code to run problems using embedded boundaries for complex geometries. The work was applied to study the effect of plasma injection on shock wave train propagation in a supersonic flow. Eli is currently working as a CFD Engineer at Karagozian & Case.
Spencer Teeter graduated with his Master of Science in Spring 2024. His work focused on the development and testing of a cold-flow injection system for scramjet propulsion systems. Spencer currently works as an Aerospace Test Engineer at Canvas Inc.
Kavin graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Spring 2025. He conducted his Senior Design Project at the Aerospace Propulsion and Diagnostic Laboratory working on laser plasma sustainment strategies for combustion enhancement. ignition of engines.
Katie graduated with a Master Plan B in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University. She completed her Senior Design Project at the Aerospace Propulsion and Diagnostics Laboratory working on designing a high enthalpy source for the APDL Supersonic Wind Tunnel She was acknowledged for this work, receiving 1st place in the student poster competition at the 2023 AIAA Rocky Mountain Technical Symposium and 1st place at CSU’s 2024 Engineering Days.
Rebecca Zulch graduated with her Bachelor of Science in May 2023. She completed her capstone research project with the Aerospace Propulsion and Diagnostics Laboratory, working on upgrades to the CSU supersonic indraft wind tunnel.
Caleigh Haid graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Fall 2023. She completed her undergraduate internship with the Aerospace Propulsion and Diagnostics Laboratory, working on upgrades to the CSU supersonic indraft wind tunnel.
Kelsie Pitcher spent Summer 2024 completing a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) position in the Aerospace Propulsion and Diagnostics Laboratory. She will graduate with her Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Engineering in May 2026.