Ephraim Zegeye, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

Biography

After graduate school, Dr. Zegeye joined the Jimma University of Ethiopia and handled a wide range of courses in his specialization. He has also taken several initiatives to develop the laboratories in the department and voluntarily has put in strenuous effort to bring in a simulative academic environment.

Dr. Zegeye moved to the U.S. and joined Louisiana State University for his Ph.D. His dissertation was focused on the development and characterization of multifunctional low-density nanocomposites. During his studies, Dr. Zegeye employed unique techniques to synthesize carbon nanostructures, fabricate novel free-standing carbon nanofiber papers, and multifunctional nanocomposites. After graduation, he joined the former Next Generation Composite Crest Center (NextGenC3) (of LSU and Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA) as a postdoctoral research associate to continue his study on the development, characterization, and application of nanocomposites. During his stay at NextGen3, Dr. Zegeye also took responsibility to teach undergrad students at Southern University. Dr. Zegeye was also a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, and participated in developing a palpable system for detecting breast tissue abnormalities and acquired knowledge and experience in developing tactile sensors. Before he moved to Liberty University, he was an Adjunct Professor in the mechanical engineering department of the University of the District of Colombia, D.C.

Publications

• Bahat, P., Zegeye, E., Ghamsari, A.K. and Woldesenbet, E. (2015). Improved thermal conductivity in carbon nanotubes-reinforced syntactic foam achieved by a new dispersing technique. Journal of the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society. 67(12):2048-2854.
• Ghamsari, A. K., Zegeye, E. and Woldesenbet, E. (2015). Viscoelastic properties of syntactic foams reinforced with short sisal fibers. Journal of Composite Materials. 49(1): 27-34.
• Zegeye, E., Ghamsari, A.K. and Woldesenbet, E. (2014). Mechanical properties of graphene platelets reinforced syntactic foams. Journal of Composites Part B: Engineering. 60: 268-273.
• Ghamsari, A. K., Zegeye, E., Jin, Y. and Woldesenbet, E. (2013). Application of bucky-gel in fabrication of a low-voltage rapid microvalve for flow regulation. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 5 (12): 5408-5412.
• Zegeye, E., Ghamsari, A. K., Jin, Y. and Woldesenbet, E. (2013). Strain sensing property of carbon nanofiber/glass microballoons epoxy nanocomposite. Smart Materials and Structures. 22: 065010.
• Ghamsari, A. K., Jin, Y., Zegeye, E. and Woldesenbet, E. (2013). Bucky gel actuator displacement: experiment and model. Smart Materials and Structures. 22 (2): 025034.
• Zegeye, E. and Woldesenbet, E. Processing and characterization of carbon nanotube reinforced syntactic foams. Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites. (2012). 31(15): 1045-1052.
• Zegeye, E., Jin, Y. and Woldesenbet, E. (2012). A paper like structure formed by binding self-assembled glass microballoons using random CNF networks. Materials Letters. 68: 490-492.

Conferences, Proceedings, & Presentations

• Zegeye, E., Wicker, S., Dawan, F. and Woldesenbet, E. Impedance of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced epoxy syntactic foam, The 10th Asian-Australasian Conference on Composite Materials (ACCM-10), Bexco in Busan, Korea, October 16 -19, 2016.
• Zegeye, E., Ghamsari, A. K. and Woldesenbet, E. Strain sensing property of glass microballoons/CNF nanocomposite embedded in syntactic foam. ASME Early Career Technical Conference, Birmingham, Al, November 2-3, 2013.
• Zegeye, E. and Woldesenbet, E. Glass microballoons-carbon nanofibers multifunctional composites. BIT’s 2nd Annual World Congress of Advanced Materials-2013 (WCAM-2013), Shanghai, China, June 5-7, 2013.
• Zegeye, E., Pennington, K., Jin, Y., Abera, A. and Woldesenbet, E. Dynamic mechanical analysis of conductive foam films fabricated from free standing glass microballoon-CNF structure. ASME Early Career Technical Conference, March 29-31, Baton Rouge, LA, 2012.
• Zegeye, E., Pennington, K., Jin, Y. and Woldesenbet, E. Electrically conductive nanocomposite foam containing glass microballoons for monitoring damage in syntactic foams. NextGen C3 Composite CREST Center, Regional Science and Engineering Conference, Baton Rouge, LA, April 4-5, 2012.
• Zegeye, E., Jin, Y. and Woldesenbet, E. Synthesis of carbon nanofiber paper using chemical vapor deposition method. ECI conference on carbon-based nano-materials and devices, Suzhou, China, October 17-22, 2011.
• Zegeye, E., Jin, Y. and Woldesenbet, E. Effect of deposition time on the fabrication of glass microballoons reinforced CNF paper. The 26th the American Society for Composites (ASC) Technical Conference, Montreal, Canada, Sept. 26-28, 2011.
• Zegeye, E., Jin, Y., Pennington, K. and Woldesenbet, E. Fabrication and mechanical characterization of conductive foam films based on glass microballoon included CNF paper. ONR Solid Mechanics Review, College Park, MD, Sept. 12-14, 2011.
• Zegeye, E., John, M. and Woldesenbet, E. Dynamic mechanical analysis of syntactic foams fabricated using carbon nanotube covered glass microballoons. Syntactic & Composite Foams III Conference, Cetraro, Italy, May 29-June 03, 2011 (Invited talk).
• Zegeye, E. and Woldesenbet, E. Fabrication of glass microballoon reinforced carbon nanofiber paper using chemical vapor deposition method for thin conductive syntactic foams. ME Graduate Student Conference, LSU, Baton Rouge, LA, April 30, 2011.
• Zegeye, E., Bahat, P. and Woldesenbet, E. Enhancing thermal properties of syntactic foams using CNT covered microballoons,” 25th ASC Annual Technical Conference, Dayton, OH, Sept. 20 – 23, 2010.
• Zegeye E. and Tesfaye, T. Stress analysis of involute gears with extremely small number of teeth. 3rd International Conference on Engineering Education, Technology and Environment (CEETE), Jimma, Ethiopia, April 18-19, 2008.
• p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 48.0px; text-indent: -48.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Zegeye, E., Wicker, S. and Woldesenbet, E. (2018) AC and DC electrical properties of graphene nanoplatelets reinforced epoxy syntactic foam, Material Research Express (Accepted Manuscript).

Honors and Awards

• Louisiana State University graduate assistantship and graduate school research awards (2009 to 2012)
• Next GenC3 graduate fellowship award (2010 to 2012)
• Best paper presentation award, NextGen C3 CREST Center Conference (April 4-5, 2012)

Professional Memberships

• American Society of Mechanical Engineering
• The Graphene Council
• American Society for Composites
• Reviewer (Material Research Express, Nanotechnology, Smart Material and Structures, JOM, Composite Part B: Engineering)