Nicholas Gangemi, a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, won the 2024 Annual Research Publications Award (ARPAD) from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).
Nicholas was honored for his exceptional paper, “Dirac-like Spectrum for Surface Waves in an Ultrasonic Crystal,” which received top recognition within NRL’s Acoustics Division, where he also works full-time as a mechanical engineer.
The publication was the result of a collaborative effort with Joseph Vignola, Ph.D., and Diego Turo, Ph.D., both experts in acoustics and faculty members in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Catholic University.
The ARPAD celebrates the highest quality technical research across NRL’s scientific divisions—making this award a truly prestigious achievement.
Depicted in the photograph below (U.S. Navy photo), Nicholas measures a Dirac-like spectrum in an ultrasonic crystal consisting of a hexagonal array of cylindrical cavities in the laboratory's Acoustic Division Anechoic Chamber at headquarters in Washington, D.C. This research has opened the door for the study of acoustic twisttronics and the development of Navy-relevant advanced acoustic materials.
