Our lab consists of a principal investigator, graduate and undergraduate students, internship students, and visiting scholars. Members of the lab are passionate about research and have a wide variety of interests, ranging from icing research to luminescent sensors to drag reducing surface coatings. Our group is always looking for motivated students who share an interest in understanding challenging problems with an appreciation for interdisciplinary study. Please contact us if you are interested or have any questions.
Lab Members (Summer 2026 Updates)
Principal Investigator
Hirotaka Sakaue
Hirotaka Sakaue is the principal investigator of this laboratory. He joined the University of Notre Dame as an associate professor in the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department in 2015. He is originally from Japan and spent many years working for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), where he served as a mentor and adviser to many students.
Postdoctoral Scholars
Daiki Kurihara
Daiki joined our group in the spring of 2017 after receiving his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tokyo University of Science. He worked in the lab as a visiting student in summer 2015. He is originally from Tokyo, Japan. His research topic is the development of a novel motion-capturing pressure measurement technique using PSP sensors.
Graduate Students
Masafumi Yamazaki
Zakky joined Sakaue Lab in the fall of 2020. He is originally from Saitama, Japan. He received B.S. in Applied Physics from Tokyo University of Science and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Kanagawa Institute of Technology. He has worked on icing problems and mitigation techniques in aviation and wind energy field. He works on the elucidation of the freezing mechanism of a supercooled water droplet.
Nicholas Slusher
Nick is a graduate student studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He is from Columbia, MO, and currently lives in Keenan Hall. Nick joined the Sakaue Lab in January 2021 and is currently researching the effects of temperature on anodized aluminum pressure-sensitive paint.
Michael Sanchez
Michael Sanchez is a senior studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He is from New York City, NY, and currently lives in Baumer Hall. Michael joined the Sakaue Lab in January 2024 and is currently working on the splashing phenomenon by having a stationary water droplet being impacted by a moving surface. Understanding this phenomenon would improve icing simulation found on an aircraft.
Alex Alvarez
Alex Alvarez is a second year Master’s student studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He is originally from Caguas, PR, but moved to St. Petersburg, FL, for his middle and high school years. Alex joined Sakaue labs in 2025 after completing his B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University. At the lab, Alex works on studying the effects of surface roughness on aerodynamic models in the transonic flow regime, by using PSP to extract important surface pressure information that can provide insights on the global flow behavior.
Lyon Burns
Lyon is a graduate student studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. He grew up in various places including Indiana, Japan, Kentucky, and Texas. He received B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University. Lyon previously did an undergraduate research internship at Sakaue Lab in summer 2024 and is currently researching high enthalpy PSP/TSP applications.
Undergraduate Students
Will be updated soon
Visiting Scholars/Visiting Students
Currently, there are no visiting scholars / students. Will be updated
Internship Students
Currently, there are no internship students. Will be updated
Past Members
go to past members: http://sites.nd.edu/sakaue-lab/people/past-members/