We have multiple faculty members involved in various aspects of acoustics and ultrasonics in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department.

Prospective students should review the research of professors they would be interested in working with, and contact them directly. Contact information is available via the departmental web site.

Dr. Xiaoning Jiang
Jiang is interested in micro/nano-sensors, actuators and transducers and their applications in biomedical and aerospace engineering; ultrasound imaging for medical and industrial NDE/NDT applications; high power ultrasound therapy; sensors and actuators for extreme environment; and micro/nanofabrications with smart materials and structures incorporation. Presently, he is 1) conducting research in high-frequency and broadband ultrasound transducers for biomedical imaging, therapy and NDE, 2) developing electromechanical devices for extreme environments, and 3) studying new smart materials and micro/nanostructures for energy conversion (harvesting, sensing, actuation).

As a faculty advisor, Dr. Jiang looks for hard-working students who have a strong background in physics and acoustics and who are interested in developing strong instrumentation skills. His research is attractive to students who are interested in cutting-edge research in the biomedical, mechanical or aerospace areas, and who are interested in advanced imaging and therapy methods and techniques.

Dr. Yun Jing
Dr. Jing is currently 1) contributing to the development of ultrasound drug delivery and high intensity focused ultrasound, 2) developing numerical algorithms for predicting acoustic wave behavior in various media, 3) studying the acoustic meta-materials for sub-wavelength imaging, noise reduction and cloaking, 4) and designing noise insulation materials. In MAE, he collaborates with Drs. Jiang, Yuan, Zhu and Muller. Other research collaborators at NCSU include Dr. Gu (BME).

The students who work with Dr. Jing are drawn to his research because of its cutting-edge nature (reflected in high journal activity and research funding agency support) and its high potential in changing the landscape of medical diagnostics.

Dr. Marie Muller
The focus of Dr. Muller's research is on the development of new sources of imaging contrasts that provide diagnostically relevant information. Her approach is based on understanding the propagation of ultrasound and elastic waves in biological tissue, and to establish quantitative relationships between ultrasound parameters and the microarchitecture of tissue. Ongoing research in my lab addresses bone, soft tissue and porous materials. The projects include: (1) Bone microarchitecture modelling and assessment; (2) Characterizing vascular networks; (3) The fundamentals of multiple scattering in tissue.

Her research attracts students because of its high societal impact, because it involves both theory and the learning about state-of-the-art numerical and experimental methods, and because it involves teamwork and collaborations with physicians, physicists and engineers.