Hyein Choi

Hyein Choi is a graduate student in mechanical engineering whose work explores the combustion behavior of metal-based energetic materials. These materials produce large amounts of heat and gas rapidly, offering significant advantages in high-energy propulsion and dense energy storage. However, their behavior arises from complex reaction-transport coupling that remains difficult to predict and control. This is further complicated when the materials undergo aging, which alters thermal transport and atomic diffusion at the nanoscale interfaces. Hyein aims to understand the multiphase, multiscale combustion physics by combining in situ flame measurements with computational modeling. As a MathWorks Fellow, Hyein will develop a MATLAB-based diagnostic tool for quantifying the combustion behavior of metal-based energetic materials by coupling experimental data with physics-based simulations. This could enable rapid characterization of aging energetic materials, supporting reliable design for long-duration interstellar missions and thermal safety applications.