Amy Mensch (Fed)

Dr. Amy Mensch is a mechanical engineer in the Engineered Fire Safety Group of the Fire Research Division (FRD) of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  Dr. Mensch began working at NIST in 2015 after obtaining her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Penn State University, where she researched heat transfer in gas turbine applications and studied the thermal effects of contaminant deposition and cooling geometry.  She obtained her M.S. in mechanical engineering, also from Penn State, with her thesis on the sooting propensity of gas turbine surrogate fuels.  Prior to starting her doctoral degree, she worked in the Fire Fighting Technology Group in the FRD at NIST from 2009-2011, when she investigated the thermal performance of respirator facepieces.  Currently, Dr. Mensch's research interests are soot deposition, fire and smoke detection, kitchen cooktop fire prevention, and ember or firebrand thermal characterization. She is an active member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and an alum of ASME's Early-Career Leadership Program to Serve Engineers (ECLIPSE).

Rohsenow Prize for Best Presentation on Gas Turbine Heat Transfer at the 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress