In March, the Department of Defense announced $221 million in awards for basic defense-related research projects as part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program. 

This year, two Case School of Engineering researchers will participate on two separate projects. 

• Chirag Kharangate, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, will focus on two-phase thermal management systems that are critical to future naval power, propulsion and energy systems. The project is led by Purdue University.

• Bryan Schmidt, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is working on a project led by Colorado University that will develop novel flow control devices that will control heat flux in hypersonic vehicles. 

Both projects have received $7.5 million of support over 5 years.

The MURI program is highly competitive and since 1985 has brought teams of investigators from multiple disciplines together in order to “generate collective insights, facilitating the growth of cutting-edge technologies to address the Department's unique challenges."