Parker LaMascus

Contact Information:

email: lamascus@seas.upenn.edu
office: 112 Towne

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (summa cum laude), Oklahoma Christian University, 2018

Research Interests:

My research is united by its telos — contributing to sustainability with rigorous science. My current projects involve fundamental research in nano-scale and macro-scale tribology to develop a mechanistic understanding of friction and wear, especially with respect to anti-wear tribofilms, which has the potential to greatly augment our understanding of lubrication in machinery gears and automobiles.

Awards & Fellowships

2022 Finalist, Penn Prize for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching

2021 STLE Philadelphia Student Scholarship recipient

2020 NDSEG Fellow

2020 NSF GRFP Awardee (declined)

2018 Goldwater Scholarship (first in school history)

Publications & Intellectual Property:

Under review: MacLaren, A., LaMascus, P., Carpick, R.W. Enhancing the Range and Reliability of the Spacer Layer Imaging Method. (2024)

Elinski, M.B., LaMascus, P., Zheng, L. et al. Cooperativity Between Zirconium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Extreme Pressure Additives in Forming Protective Tribofilms: Toward Enabling Low Viscosity Lubricants. Tribol Lett 68, 107 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11249-020-01346-1 (Editor’s Choice, Tribology & Lubrication Technology Magazine)

LaMascus, P., Shodunke, A., Douglas-Miller, R. Wind-for-Water Trade: Mathematical Validation of a Novel Policy Initiative in Wind Energy. Aletheia, 2018.

Co-Inventor: Impulse Rotor Wind Turbine with Optimal Blade Area, provisional patent, 2018.

Presentations:

LaMascus, P., Elinski, M. B., Delghandi, D., Nautiyal, P., Griffin, J., Zhang, L., Jackson, A., Wiacek, R., Carpick, R.W. “Tuning Growth vs. Removal of Zirconia Nanocrystal-Derived Tribofilms using Co-Additives.” STLE Annual Meeting, May 2023

LaMascus, P. “Tribosintering of Mecal Oxide Nanocrystal Antiwear Additives: Mechanisms, Design Parameters, and Mechanochemistry.” University of Pennsylvania Thesis Proposal, December 2022.

LaMascus, P., Delghandi, D., Griffin, J., Yazdanparast, M., Jackson, A., Wiacek, R., Carpick, R.W. “Tribosintering of Metal Oxide Nanocrystal Anti-Wear Additives: Effect of Nanocrystal Composition.” NDSEG Fellows Conference, June 2022.

LaMascus, P. “The Effect of Surface Roughness on ZrO2 Tribofilm Development.” University of Pennsylvania Qualifying Exams, June 2020.

Lee, L., LaMascus, P., Rubinstein, P.. “Exploring the State Variable of Crumpling Paper: Scaling and Machine Learning.” New England Complex Fluids Workshop, Boston, MA, 2018.

LaMascus, P., Wood, D., Battles M., Ferringer, M., Owino, M. “Field Testing of Miniature Wind Turbines.” American Society of Mechanical Engineers Symposium, Oklahoma City, OK, 2018.

LaMascus, P., Shodunke, A., Douglas-Miller, R.. “A New Sustainability Initiative: Assessing the Wind Resource of Southwest Kansas.” American Wind Energy Association “Windpower” Conference, Anaheim, CA, 2017

LaMascus, P., Whaley, P.W. “Wind Innovation, Next Designs: Experimental Validation of Wind Turbine Design.” Oklahoma EPSCoR “Research Day at the Capitol” Competition: Second Place, Regional Universities Category, March 27, 2017