
Thermal/Fluid Sciences
We are developing ways to extract energy from fluid flows and heat exchange.
Faculty and students working in the thermal/fluid sciences advance the understanding of systems that involve thermodynamic conversions of energy, the conversion of the flow of liquids and gases into force and power, and heat exchange. Our research focuses on the conversion of energy from fuel and from the flow of wind and water for use in industry, transportation, buildings, and homes. Our fundamental studies in thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, turbomachinery, energy storage, and combustion are applied to improve engines, gas turbines, wind turbines and wind farms, hydro turbines, power plants, and energy storage devices. We conduct large-scale experiments and apply high performance computing methods to advance scientific understanding, mathematical modeling, and design tools.
Labs, Centers, and Groups
Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Center
Chris Rahn, Chao-Yang Wang, Donghai Wang
Computational Reacting Flows Lab
Cryogenics Combustion Lab
Electrochemical Engine Center
Electronics and Thermography Lab
Energy Nanostructure Lab
Environmental and Biological Fluid Mechanics Lab
Fluid Dynamics Research Consortium
Flow Physics and Computational Research Lab
Heat Exchange and Thermal Energy Research (HEATER) Laboratory
Heat Transfer and Multiphase Flow Lab
High Pressure Combustion Lab
Interfacial Phenomena Lab
Multiscale Thermal Fluids and Energy Lab
Nanomechanical Systems Laboratory
Pangborn Advanced Controls Lab
Reacting Flow Dynamics Lab
Turbine Heat Transfer and Aerodynamics Group
Mathematical Modeling & Computational Physics Laboratory
Wong Laboratory for Nature Inspired Engineering
Linxiao Zhu Group


Related Faculty
- Margaret Byron
- Fan-Bill Cheung
- Sukwon Choi
- John Cimbala
- Aman Haque
- Dan Haworth
- Anil Kulkarni
- Thomas Litzinger
- Stephen Lynch
- Jacqueline O’Connor
- Herschel Pangborn
- Laura Pauley
- Bladimir Ramos-Alvarado
- Alex Rattner
- Matthew Rau
- Karen Thole
- Stefan Thynell
- Adri van Duin
- Chao-Yang Wang
- Donghai Wang
- David Williams
- Tak Sing Wong
- Yuan Xuan
- Xiang Yang
- Richard Yetter
- Linxiao Zhu