Research Team
Zackery Nieto
Graduate Research Assistant
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASo
Zackery Nieto is continuing his education as a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at UTEP under the tutelage of Dr. Alejandra Castellanos. During his time as an undergraduate, he spent his time helping fellow students as a chemistry peer leader/tutor, held an officer position in Formula SAE and ASME, competed in the first ARL Drone competition representing UTEP, as well as achieving several publications through his research at UTEP and his internship at ARL APG (Army Research Labs at Aberdeen Proving Grounds). His areas of research have touched deep-learning applications with high performance computers (performing uncertainty quantification for co-axial systems), algorithm analysis (to understand the limitations machine learning has compared to other algorithms), and now he is working as a research assistant on resin materials and composites. He has interests in computational simulation, materials advancement, and green energy. His main goal after graduation is contract work with the DoD and DoE before starting an LLC later in life. In his off time, he enjoys worldbuilding, cooking, and woodworking.
Edgar Avalos
Graduate Research Assistant
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASo
Edgar Avalos is pursuing further education in mechanical engineering as a doctoral student at UTEP under the guidance of Dr. Alejandra Castellanos. He worked at various customer service companies during most of his time as an undergraduate, as well as led a research group in designing gimbal systems for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) under the supervision of Dr. Michael McGee. His research consisted of using computational modeling to develop and 3-D print several working gimbal systems for different UAV configurations and missions. As a doctoral student, he has completed a research internship at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he investigated the accuracy of simulating low-velocity impact on composite laminates using computational models. Currently, Mr. Avalos is working as a research assistant on computational modeling and simulating of material coatings used in high-temperature extreme environments, such as in hypersonic vehicle applications and gas-turbine engines. He is interested in computational modeling, material systems designing, and defense systems. After graduating, he aspires to continue researching and developing defense systems for companies such as Lockheed Martin, FN Herstal, Remington, etc., before branching off and starting an LLC later in life. During his off time, Edgar enjoys cooking, drawing, and doing mechanic work on his car (breaking, fixing, and upgrading).