Home

Dr. Nix received his BSME degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Co. (UMBC) in 1995, where as an undergraduate he worked for four years in the environmental engineering and air quality monitoring fields. After receiving an MS in Mechanical Engineering in 1996 from Virginia Tech, specializing in gas turbine heat transfer and film cooling, he worked for three years in thermal cycle design for Bechtel Power and as a consultant for the nuclear power industry. In 2003, he received his Ph.D from Virginia Tech and served as adjunct faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, performing research in the area of turbine heat transfer and cooling. After his doctoral work, Dr. Nix worked for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Patuxent River NAS as a turbine design engineer where he provided turbine hot section engineering support for the Navy fleet of aircraft engines and served as technical contract monitor for Navy sponsored turbine research programs. Dr. Nix joined the faculty at West Virginia University in the Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions in Fall of 2006 as a research assistant professor developing research programs in gas turbine hot section durability, heat transfer and cooling, and turbine materials and sensors development and testing. In 2012, he accepted a position as an Assistant Professor, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018. He is continuing research in heat transfer and advanced combustion in gas turbines for propulsion and power, as well as research in natural gas and dual fuel engines, emissions measurements from transit buses and hybrid-electric vehicle systems.

Education

• Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, April 2003
• M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, December 1996
• B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD, May 1995