We get feedback from industry, so we know that we work on something that can have tangible impact.

As a member of the Modeling and Optimization Consortium (MOC) group, James Tancabel is working on the Next Generation Heat Exchangers Project. The project aims to optimize air to fluid heat exchangers. Their focus is the air-side of the exchanger, “that’s where the thermal resistance is,” says Tancabel, although he adds that they also look into the mechanical aspects so they can look at the manufacturing side of it. “It’s a very open field,” he notes, there are a lot of researchers working on these kinds of heat exchangers, but, he adds, “there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

He says he likes working on the project because he can get realistic feedback from people in the industry. “We can see the product of our efforts and continue to advance science but we can also see the product. I like seeing the progress as opposed to seeing numbers on a computer,” muses Tancabel.

Youngstown State to College Park

Tancabel grew up in Boardman, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown, and completed undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics at Youngstown State University. He became interested in pursuing a Ph.D with CEEE after one of his professors, an alumnus of CEEE, told him about the program. “He said they are one of, if not the best at what they do,” recalls Tancabel, and when he came to visit, Tancabel found the research faculty members were approachable and that they were engaged with the students. Tancabel is happy he has found a place with CEEE. “We get feedback from industry, so we know that we work on something that can have tangible impact,” says Tancabel.

Tancabel wants to work in the industry after he graduates. He doesn’t know where exactly he would like to work, but he sees himself having a long career in industry, and after that? “You never know,” he says, he likes the idea of retiring from industry into academia, “maybe being an adjunct somewhere, maybe someday a professor,” he adds.

In his free time Tancabel plays flute in a concert band. He also likes to play with his dog, Luna, a 3-year-old Yorkie. He and his girlfriend got Luna this July and are looking forward to taking her on the Anacostia Trail.


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