Jonathon Howard, a graduate assistant at the FRIB Laboratory, is the 2021 recipient of the Klaus and Jean Timmerhaus Graduate Scholarship.

Howard is a third-year graduate student at Michigan State University (MSU), majoring in mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering. He is a graduate assistant in the MSU Cryogenic Initiative at FRIB, where he is under the direction of Peter Knudsen, senior cryogenic process engineer at FRIB. Howard is from Owosso, Michigan.

Howard said he has learned about the design and analysis of large-scale helium cryogenic systems, the basics and history of particle accelerators, properties of fluids/materials under cryogenic conditions, cryogenic turbomachinery design and applications, and engineering practices while working at FRIB. His work on the thermal-hydraulic characterization of shell-side flow in a cryogenic coiled finned-tube heat exchanger was published in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Journal of Heat Transfer in May 2021.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to continue research progress in this field,” said Howard. “FRIB and Michigan State have increased student interest in the field of cryogenics since the formation of the MSU Cryogenic Initiative Program, and it is my hope that this award will influence additional students to attend Michigan State for cryogenic engineering research."

Knudsen said Howard’s work as a research assistant supports FRIB’s development of next-generation cryogenic equipment and facility designs.

“It is an honor to receive this prestigious award,” said Knudsen. “It is well deserved.”

The Klaus and Jean Timmerhaus Graduate Scholarship was developed to assist graduate students at American universities who are engaged in the various fields of cryogenic engineering. The award will be in the amount of $2,500 for a single year. If the applicant is still in graduate school for the following year, a renewal is possible pending acceptable grades and research progress. The goal of this graduate scholarship is to “develop and foster increased interest and participation in fields of cryogenic study and to encourage future engineers and scientists in these areas.”