Greetings and welcome to the Molecular Engineering and Liquid Thermal (MELT) laboratory, a computational nucleus of discovery and innovation, dedicated to illuminating the intricate world of molecular dynamics, nanoscale heat transfer, and associated fields. Our mission at MELT is to break new ground in the realms of mechanical and biomedical engineering, by developing pioneering solutions that catalyze technological progress.

Our research is marked by our deep interest in crafting groundbreaking force fields of water, allowing us to simulate the fascinating process of evaporation across a variety of scales, from the minuscule expanse of sub-nanometers to the larger realm of micrometers. Our toolkit is as diverse as our interests, employing a wide range of techniques such as meta heuristic optimization, machine learning, and molecular dynamics simulations. With these resources, we probe complex questions like, "What are the boundaries of liquid cooling's heat flux for electronics?" or "How do molecular mechanisms orchestrate venous thromboembolism?"

At MELT, we consider student involvement to be pivotal to our success. We provide a rich learning environment for both graduate and undergraduate students, offering them the chance to immerse themselves in cutting-edge technology and gain practical experience in research and development. We strive to push the boundaries of heat transfer and biomedical research through fostering collaboration and embracing interdisciplinary approaches.

Highlighted Research - High Fidelity Force Field Development for Water

Research Grants ( $55,188 Funded, from 2021 to till date)

1. Sumith Yesudasan (PI), Fall 2023, "Testing Passive Radiative Cooling for Spacecraft Thermal Protection", Funding Agency: NASA CT Space Grant. Funding Amount: $16,972 (Status: Funded)

2. Sumith Yesudasan (PI), Fall 2023, "Incorporating the philosophy of Entrepreneurial-Minded Learning (EML) by emphasizing the concept of learning through failure in Instrumentation Course.", Funding Agency: Office of the Dean, Tagliatela College of Engineering, University of New Haven. Funding Amount: $1,500 (Status: Funded)

3. Sumith Yesudasan (PI), Spring 2023, "Experimental Investigation of Cooling Efficiency of Liquid Cooling Computers", Funding Agency: Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, SHSU. Funding Amount: $3,490 (Status: Funded)

4. Sumith Yesudasan (PI), Fall 2021, "Interfacing Arduino Microcontroller with Mechatronics Systems", Funding agency: STEM center, SHSU. Funding Amount: $1,000 (Status: Funded)

5. Ulan Dakeev (PI), Sumith Yesudasan (Co-PI) and Elizabeth Gross (Co-PI), 2021-22, "Navigation through AR: Development of Augmented Reality Application (ARNavi) to Improve Navigation in Gresham Library", Funding agency: Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, SHSU. Funding Amount: $19,298 (Status: Funded)

6. Reg Pecen (PI), Sumith Yesudasan (Co-PI), Faruk Yildiz (Co-PI), Ulan Dakeev (Co-PI), 2021-2022, "Design and Implementation of Senior Design (Capstone) Curriculum for Engineering Technology Majors", Funding agency: Professional & Academic Center for Excellence, SHSU. Funding Amount: $10,940 (Status: Funded)

7. Sumith Yesudasan (PI), Spring 2021, "Smart Heating and Ventilation System development for urban Houses", Funding agency: STEM center, SHSU. Funding Amount: $1,988 (Status: Funded)

8. Actively contributed to the NSF funded proposal #1454450 as a PhD candidate, "Experimental and Numerical Study of Nanoscale Evaporation Heat Transfer for Passive-Flow Driven High-Heat Flux Devices", 2015 (NSF ID : 000804582) (Status: Funded)

Past Research (Completed)

1. Multiscale Modeling of Thrombosis

Understanding the mechanics behind the formation of thrombo-embolisms can improve the existing thrombolytic therapies and can be helpful in treating patients with deep vein thrombosis and hyper-coagulable blood. Our objective was to develop models integrating the molecular scales and continuum scales to predict the ablation of the thrombus from the vascular walls and how it is related to the formation of embolisms.

2. Reactive Coarse Grain MD method for Fibrin

As the first step towards the multiscale model of thrombosis, we created a reactive molecular dynamics method for coarse grain fibrinogen molecules. This customized force field could simulate the fibrin clot formation, its branching and continuous fiber formation etc, which are in qualitative agreement with the experimental results. We also performed confocal microscopy imaging of the fibrin clots (shown in green on the right) which shows the interconnected networks of fibrin polymer. 

3. Molecular Mechanics of Fibrinogen and Hemoglobin 

Mechanical properties play an important role in determining the state of a blood clot, which can embolize or dissolve normally in an event of vascular injury. To understand this, we have characterized the molecular level mechanical properties of the hemoglobin - a major constituent of red blood cells. Our in silico studies show that the hemoglobin which is commonly referred to as a globular protein is in fact having anisotropic properties.

4. Self Assembly and Spontaneous Sickle Fiber Formation

Sickle cell disease is caused due to the mutation of the hemoglobin. This causes the polymerization of the hemoglobins forming long strands which distorts the shape of the hemoglobin into a sickle. We developed accurate coarse grain models of sickle hemoglobin which can simulate the spontaneous nucleus formation and self assembly of them into long strands and effectively capturing the mechanical deformation or sickling of the red blood cells.

5. Solid-Liquid Heat Transfer in MD simulations

Ultra fast heat removal will become a necessity in the industries like solar thermal conversion and integrated chip cooling. To achieve high heat fluxes, one promising technology is the passive cooling methods at nanoscale. With our molecular dynamics studies, we have estimated that ultra high heat fluxes can be removed from very hot surfaces effectively using passive flows.

6. Fast Local Pressure  Estimation for LAMMPS

Estimating local continuum level thermodynamic properties like pressure, density, surface tension and temperature are essential to couple molecular level simulations with continuum scale simulations. Currently, the AtC package in LAMMPS performs this task at the expense of high computational power in 3D. For systems with 2D inhomogeneity, often we need only 2D pressure. To address this, we have developed a highly efficient 2D local pressure estimation algorithm which can act as a post processing tool for LAMMPS.

Professional Memberships

1. 2014 - 2023 Member of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

2. Life Member of Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB)

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