Dr. Krishna Shah

​Krishna Shah, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and leads the research at Sustainable Energy Systems Lab. He has authored/co-authored more than 20 articles published in peer reviewed journals. He has been recognized with awards and honors for his contribution in research as well as towards promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM. This includes being invited to participate in a workshop at University of California, Berkeley as one of the 30 Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering. Besides research, mentoring and teaching, he enjoys cooking and learned to play piano for a bit. CV

Email: ​krishna.shah@ua.edu

Skylar Jordan – Ph.D.

B.S. & M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama
MBA, University of Alabama
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Skylar Jordan is a doctoral student at UA in the Mechanical Engineering department. He is currently working on developing a coupled electrochemical-mechanical-thermal microstructure scale modeling framework to study the effects of microstructure design on solid-state battery cell performance and inform an accompanying cell level model. Soon, he plans to apply this experience in developing multiscale multiphysics models for next-gen batteries. In his free time, Skylar enjoys hiking, reading, and hanging out with friends and family. 

Email: smjordan1@crimson.ua.edu

​Parisa Akhtari Zavareh – Ph.D.

B.Sc. and M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya

Parisa Akhtari Zavareh is a doctoral student at UA. She has prior research experience in mechanical design and manufacturing resulting in journal publications. Currently, she is conducting research on li-ion batteries using simulations and experiments to improve their life, performance, and safety. Besides research, she plays tennis, enjoys mountain climbing, camping in nature, and socializing. 

Email: pakhtarizavareh@crimson.ua.edu

Nishma Bhattarai – Ph.D.

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Kathmandu University

Nishma Bhattarai is a doctoral student in the Mechanical Engineering department at UA. She is currently working on understanding the factors affecting aging and degradation within a battery. Her previous work involved thermal modelling of EV batteries for dynamic driving conditions.  In her free time, Nishma enjoys reading, hiking and watching movies.

Email: nbhattarai2@crimson.ua.edu

Harsha Vaddireddy – Ph.D.

M.S. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Oklahoma State University

Harsha Vaddireddy is a part time doctoral student in mechanical engineering at UA. He is working currently at Cadence Design Systems Inc. as Product Engineer 2. He primarily works on developing CFD models of data center and electronic equipment to predict thermal and airflow behaviors. His thesis research for his Master’s in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Oklahoma State University focused on developing machine learning technique to predict turbulent flows. Outside of his Ph.D. and work, Harsha enjoys playing snooker with friends, going to the gym, and watching movies.

Email: hvaddireddy@crimson.ua.edu

Lukas Kiesewetter – Senior 

Lukas Kiesewetter is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, a member of the Randall Research Scholars Program, and is pursuing his M.S. through UA’s Accelerated Master’s Program. In his research, Lukas is currently working on modeling battery and flight dynamics for fixed-wing electric aircraft using MATLAB and conducting flight profile cycling experiments on 18650 battery cells. In October 2023, he published a review article which presents a holistic analysis of various aircraft configurations and propulsion system architectures proposed for Advanced Air Mobility applications. In his free time, Lukas enjoys spending time with friends, watching sports, and working out. ​

Email: lkiesewetter@crimson.ua.edu

Chloe Crooks – Senior

Chloe Crooks is a junior in mechanical engineering student at UA. She is currently pursuing research regarding multi-state, multi-domain battery modelling. In her free time she enjoys music and is the station manager of WVUA-FM. She is also a member of the Phi Sigma Rho Sorority. 

Email: cecrooks@crimson.ua.edu​

John Perdue – Senior

John Perdue is a junior mechanical engineering student at UA. He has worked as a co-op of Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa and is participating in the STEM path to MBA program. He is currently pursuing research regarding battery parameter estimation using machine learning. In his free time, John enjoys live music, cooking, reading, and playing tabletop games. 

Email: jmperdue1@crimson.ua.edu​

Bryce Shiver – Senior

Bryce Shiver is a Senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering at UA. He has worked at a co-op at Honda in Alabama. He is currently working on a water-cooling test bench for the SESL to test cooling parameters on batteries and the effects of cooling to battery performance/degradation. Bryce enjoys motorsports, cars, music, cooking and hiking.  

Email: beshiver@crimson.ua.edu

Sage McCann – Senior

Sage McCann in a senior majoring in mechanical engineering and German while earning a minor in liberal arts through the University’s Blount Scholars Program. She is a current Co-op at Mercedes-Benz U.S. International and is also a member of the International German Student Exchange Program (Two Steps Ahead) in which she will go to Germany for a year and complete one semester of study along with one semester of engineering work in the automotive industry. Sage enjoys volunteering/donating to the local animal shelter, spending time with friends, traveling, and solving sudoku puzzles. 

Email: smccann@crimson.ua.edu