Student Success Story: Yuchao Chen

Yuchao Chen, a research assistant in CIVS, received his Doctor of Philosophy degree after successfully defending his dissertation at Purdue University West Lafayette on July 12th, 2022. His doctorate is in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in fluid mechanics and heat transfer. The dissertation he defended is titled “integrated multi-physics modeling of steelmaking process in electric arc furnace (EAF).” The significant contributions of his dissertation were to develop modeling methodologies and fully integrated alternating current (AC)/direct current (DC) EAF computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to achieve the simulation of the entire EAF steelmaking process. Similar models and results have not been reported in the field. His comprehensive models already helped industry collaborators to improve furnace design, perform troubleshooting, and optimize process efficiency. The corresponding results were successfully accepted and published in 13 journals and 10 conference proceedings during his Ph.D. studies.

Yuchao Chen received his B.S. degree in New Energy Science and Engineering from Central South University in China in June 2016. During this period, he served as the vice president of the student unions in the college, as well as the team leader of multiple college student competition projects which won several national and university prizes. He was awarded as the Outstanding Graduate of Central South University for his accomplishments. He pursued his study at Purdue University Northwest in the U.S. afterward and received his M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in August 2018 with a concentration in fluid mechanics and heat transfer. During this period, he served as a research assistant in CIVS, and his research works received several awards in the on-campus student research competitions. He was accepted by Purdue University West Lafayette for the Ph.D. program in Mechanical Engineering in August 2018 due to his outstanding academic records (GPA 4.0) and research achievements.

“It has been an incredible experience to be a member of the CIVS family. I greatly appreciate not only the precious research opportunities provided but also the versatile and resourceful colleagues I have here that I will benefit from for a lifetime,” said Yuchao.