Faculty

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Monday	11 AM to 1 PM
Tuesday
Wednesday	11 AM to 1 PM
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I am an Associate Professor at CSULA in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. After graduating with my Ph.D. from UC Irvine, I worked in various positions including postdoctoral researcher, consultant, lecturer, teacher fellow, and book editor. As a result of my collaborative work as an editor, I also became a co-author of the lean combustion text I was editing, and am now honored to have my name listed among those of leading combustion scientists. My journey has been long and difficult, having put myself through school starting from very little, which is why I so strongly identify with the students of CSULA. I could not have come so far without the help of my family, friends, and mentors, and hope to become a part of the support networks of all my students.

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TEACHING INTERESTS

My broad teaching interests lie in the thermal and fluid sciences, but my specific interest is currently in renewable energy and sustainability. I have developed a course proposal for one course in this area so far, and plan to develop more courses to further the progress of this new area of multidisciplinary study. One of my primary goals is to draw more women into engineering by creating a field of study that is more appealing to students who seek to make a more obvious positive impact on society and the environment. Another of my teaching interests is in combining applications-based learning with traditionally lecture-oriented courses. Tools that can be employed include in-class demonstrations, group activities, laboratory research, design projects, and off-campus facility visitations. Many of these elements are already utilized in senior design projects, two of which I am currently advising: the Human Powered Vehicle and Formula SAE teams. I would like to create a clear link between the hands-on aspects of these types of engineering projects and the fundamental concepts that are necessary in effective problem-solving so that our students are able to generate efficient and robust designs while maintaining a good sense of personal responsibility and integrity.

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RESEARCH

At UC Irvine, I studied combustion phenomena in centimeter-scale tubular chambers, and focused on experimental diagnostics of the flow and flame behavior associated with these portable power systems. The aim was to examine combustion features that are only evident at small scales, and to apply this knowledge to the design of power systems that can replace batteries in applications requiring high power densities. My interest has shifted to alternative fuels and sustainability, so I am currently developing a laboratory setup that will enable me to investigate the production and performance characteristics of alternative fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. I am also involved in a green campus project, which will explore options for the conversion of CSULA to a green university. These efforts include the implementation of solar energy and fuel cells, among other ground-breaking and novel technologies.

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PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Title	Date
Tran, MK; Dunn-Rankin, D; Pham, TK. “Optically Characterizing the Sooting Propensity of Biofuel-Diesel Diffusion Flames,” Combustion and Flame, in press.	2012
Khachikian, CS; Guillaume, DW; Pham, TK. “Changes in Student Effort and Grade Expectation in the Course of a Term,” European Journal of Engineering Education, 36(6), 595-605.	2011
Padilla, R; Jaimes, D; Pham, TK; Dunn-Rankin, D. “Experimental Study of Water Laden Fuel Mixtures Burning in a Non-Premixed Configuration.” Proceedings of the WSSCI Fall Technical Meeting, October 16-21, 2011, Riverside, CA, USA.	2011
Tran, M.K.; Pham, T.K. “Laser-Induced Incandescence and Smoke Point Measurements to Characterize the Sooting Propensity of Biodiesel Diffusion Flame,” Proceedings of ASME 2010 4th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, ES2010, May 17-22, 2010, Phoenix, AZ, USA.	2010
Mattioli, R; Pham, TK, Dunn-Rankin, D. “Secondary Air Injection in Miniature Liquid Fuel Film Combustors,” Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 32(2), 3091-3098.	2009
Tran, M.K.; Pham, T.K.; Dunn-Rankin, D.; Garman, J. “Laser-Induced Incandescence Measurements of Soot Profile in a Biodiesel Diffusion Flame.” Proceedings of the Western States Section/Combustion Institute Fall Technical Meeting, October 26-27, 2009, Irvine, CA, USA	2009
Dunn-Rankin, D.; Miyasato, M.; Pham, T.K. "Introduction and Perspectives," pp. 1-18 in Lean Combustion: Technology and Control, edited by D. Dunn-Rankin. Academic Press.	2008
Pham, TK; Dunn-Rankin, D; Sirignano, WA. "Flame structure in small-scale liquid film combustors," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 31(2), 3269-3275.	2007
Pham, TK; Dunn-Rankin, D; Sirignano, WA. "Film combustion in small cylinders," Proceedings of the 20th International Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems, July 31- August 5, 2005, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.	2005
Sirignano, WA; Pham, TK; Dunn-Rankin, D. "Miniature Scale Liquid-Fuel Film Combustor," Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 29(1), 925-931.	2002