Engineering student recognized at national research conference

Jonah Henry, a senior mechanical engineering student in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing (AEPCEC), won first place in the Engineering Video Competition at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2023.

The competition, held in Wisconsin, included students from colleges and universities across the country. NCUR 2023 saw students sharing a wide variety of undergraduate research and networking with fellow students and working professionals.

“I’ve been working with Professor Cesmeci on research since I was a freshman,” Henry said. “This research focused on supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power generation, which is considered to be one of the next-generation power technologies.”

According to the United States Department of Energy, sCO₂ boasts a reduced footprint, decreased water usage and lower costs compared to current energy production methods. Henry worked with Sevki Cesmeci, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the AEPCEC and the principal investigator of the project, to tackle a technical problem with the technology.

“We were working to develop more effective seals to minimize leakage flow from the turbo-machinery,” Henry said. “We proposed a new seal design that we were able to show reduced leakage drastically compared to existing seal technologies.”

Henry’s success in this a national competition is testament to the work put in by him and his mentor, as well as the rigor of his studies at Georgia Southern.

“Comparing Georgia Southern to other big engineering colleges, there was more opportunity to get hands-on experience with research here,” Henry said. “You aren’t just learning about the work, you’re actually doing the work. That’s something a lot of people don’t get at other places.”

His advice for other students is the same advice that he received before starting his degree.

“Right before college, I met this woman at church who told me to get into research since I was pursuing engineering,” Henry said. “I would love for all the other freshmen to know that getting into research early is probably one of the best things they can do in their undergrad.”

GSU