View on site | Email this event

Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering

North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND

Presents:

“Advanced polymer matrix composites with nanoreinforced interfaces: Fabrication, characterization, and mechanics”

Friday, Sept. 18 at 12:20 PM

Abbott Hall Room 138

Bio: Dr. Xiangfa Wu is a full professor affiliated with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at North Dakota State University (NDSU) since the fall of 2008. Prior to joining NDSU, he was a research assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL, NE) (2003-2008), and a lecturer in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT, China) (1997-1999). He received his PhD degrees in Engineering Mechanics (UNL) and Applied Mathematics (BIT), MS degree in Applied Mechanics (BIT), and BS degree in Vehicle Engineering from Jilin University of Technology (China). His research at NDSU is in the interdisciplinary fields of electrochemical energy conversion and storage, nanomanufacturing, polymer composites, and solid mechanics. To date, as PI or co-PI at NDSU, he has conducted over 20 research projects sponsored by NSF, DOE, DOD, and other regional and local funding agencies and industries with the amount of research funding of over $5 million. His research has sponsored 1 visiting professor, 2 research assistant professors, 1 postdoctoral fellow, 4 PhD students, 10 MS students, and 10 undergraduate researchers. He established the first electrochemical energy research laboratory at NDSU with research focus on hydrogen and direct liquid fuel cells, electrolyzers, electrochemical biomass reforming, intermediate-temperature proton-exchange membranes, nanofibers, structural joining technology, etc. His research has resulted in 4 US patents, 2 books and 2 book chapters, 105 journal articles, and around 90 conference papers, presentations and seminar talks. In addition, he serves as associate editor, guest editor, and board member of several international journals, as an invited panelist to review funding proposals submitted to NSF, US Air Force, regional and local funding agencies, and multiple foreign governments’ funding agencies (e.g., Canada, New Zealand, Chile, Kazakhstan, Qatar, etc.), and as invited paper reviewer for 167 international journals. He has received several honors and awards related to his research accomplishments at NDSU, UNL, and BIT.

Abstract: Advanced polymer matrix composites (PMCs) made of polymeric resin reinforced with high-performance carbon fibers have found broad cutting-edge applications in aerospace, aeronautical, ground and marine vehicles, sports utilities, wind turbine structures, offshore derricks, building and bridge reinforcements, etc. due to their unique high specific strength and toughness, low-cost manufacturing, high design flexibility and tailorability, etc. Yet, different from monolithic metals and polymers, microstructural heterogeneity (mixture of microfibers and resin matrix) of advanced PMCs commonly results in unique failure modes, typically including matrix cracking, fiber breakage, and interlaminar cracking (delamination), which requests low-cost reliable mitigation techniques to resolve while not compromising with their high specific strength and toughness.

This talk is to introduce the speaker’s research in nanofiber-based interface toughening and damage self-healing technologies for advanced PMCs. A brief introduction will be made to nanofibers and the low-cost, highly scalable electrospinning technique. A novel delamination suppression technique based on nanofiber-structured interfaces will be introduced for interface toughening of advanced PMCs. Static, dynamic/impact, and fatigue delamination tests were performed to validate the toughening effects of nanofibers on the delamination suppression of PMCs. Interface toughening mechanisms at micro/nanoscale were explored by SEM fractography and acoustic emission (AE) analysis. Phenomenological interlayer model was proposed to demonstrate the effect of interfacial nanoreinforcement on the free-edge stress suppression in PMCs. Results indicated that continuous nanofibers are capable of obviously enhancing the delamination toughness of PMCs in a wide range of strain rate. Furthermore, continuous core-shell nanofibers carrying healing-agent were produced by co-electrospinning and emulsion electrospinning and embedded at the interfaces of PMCs for autonomously healing interface damages upon appearance and self-recovering the load-carrying capacity of PMCs. The entire process of core-shell nanofiber manufacturing, self-healing PMC processing, and damage-healing characterization will be introduced and explored. Due to low weight penalty and low-cost of nanofibers and related processing of nanofiber-toughened PMCs, such interface toughening and damage self-healing techniques expect promising future for the next generalization of lightweight nanocomposites for aerospace and other industrial applications.

View on site | Email this event

Dr. Felix N. Ngassa ‘02

Assistant Vice President for

International Enrollment & Academic Partnerships

Professor of Chemistry

Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI

Presents:

“From UND to Academic Leadership: A 24-Year Journey in Higher Education”

Friday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m.

Abbott Hall Room 101

Bio: Dr. Felix N. Ngassa is the inaugural Assistant Vice President for International Enrollment & Academic Partnerships and a Professor of Chemistry in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Grand Valley State University. He earned his undergraduate degree in Chemistry (with Honors) at the University of Yaoundé 1 in Cameroon, West Africa, his doctorate in Organic and Physical Chemistry from the University of North Dakota, and his MBA from the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. Felix joined GVSU in August 2003.

Dr. Ngassa led both the University Academic Senate and its Executive Committee at Grand Valley State University for nine years — two years as Vice Chair and seven years as Chair — before serving as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs in the Office of the Provost from 2024 to 2026. In May 2026, he was appointed the university's inaugural Assistant Vice President for International Enrollment & Academic Partnerships, serving as the operational bridge between the Division of Enrollment Development & College Futures and Academic Affairs. He completed the prestigious American Council on Education (ACE) Fellowship during the 2023-2024 academic year and the 2025-2026 NAFSA Executive Internationalization Leadership e-Institute, and in June 2026 he completed the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. Dr. Ngassa's leadership qualities and attributes include significant experience with faculty governance and a proven ability to lead within a system of shared governance. He embraces a leadership style that fosters collaboration, respect, and team building. Dr. Ngassa's current portfolio encompasses international enrollment strategy, academic partnerships and transfer pathways, international student retention and success, faculty and academic engagement, and assessment, data, and compliance.

Dr. Ngassa's expertise lies in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and computational physical chemistry. His research in these areas has contributed significantly to the academic community, resulting in numerous peer-reviewed publications. He has won several teaching and research awards, including the following: Professor of the Year; the Pan-Hellenic Association Excellence in Teaching; the GVSU Alumni Association Outstanding Educator Award; the GVSU Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence (CSCE) Outstanding Undergraduate Mentoring Award; the GVSU CLAS Annual Faculty Service Award; and the Glenn A. Niemeyer Award for faculty excellence.

Abstract: When I defended my Ph.D. dissertation in Chemistry at the University of North Dakota in 2002, I could not have imagined the diverse and rewarding journey that lay ahead. The rigorous training, collaborative research environment, and mentorship I received at UND provided the foundation for a career that has evolved from bench scientist to department faculty member to university-level academic leader. My presentation will capture the key milestones, achievements, and lessons learned over the past 24 years.

View on site | Email this event