Biography:

I am a tenure-track full professor in the Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). I was a postdoc at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and a member of the seven-institutions Center for Thermal Energy Transport under Irradiation. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Material Physics from USTC in 2014 and my PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 2020. I have published 20+ journal papers, 18 of which are first-authored, and most are in prestigious journals including Physics Review Letters and Nano Letters. My research was highlighted by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) Scilight, and covered by the Cornell Chronicle and Argonne Science Highlight. I have received several highly competitive awards, including the Chinese government award for outstanding self-financed students abroad in 2020 (1/500 globally). I am now serving as an early career editorial board member for four journals: Journal of Materials Science and Technology, Materials Research Letters, Engineering Reports and EcoEnergy, and as a peer reviewer for many journals.

Research:

Micro-nano heat transfer, advanced thermal management, thermoelectric energy conversion, ultrafast-laser based thermal measurement, inelastic X-ray/neutron scattering, energy nanomaterials.

What You Can Expect in the Project:

A diverse spectrum of technology drivers such as improved thermal barriers, higher efficiency thermoelectric energy conversion, phase-change memory, heat-assisted magnetic recording, thermal management of nanoscale electronics, and nanoparticles for thermal medical therapies are motivating studies of the applied physics of thermal transport at the nanoscale. Developing advanced tools to accurately measure thermal properties of nanomaterials is highly desired. In this project, you will learn to build a ultrafast-laser based thermal measurement technique named Frequency-domain Thermorelectance (FDTR), which designed for measuring thermal conductivity and heat capacity of nanoscale thin films and bulk materials. You will get hands-on training on building a laser system and learn some basic knowledge on optics and thermal properties of materials.

Desired Skill and Background:

You need to have some basic knowledge on optics, and knowing how to use software such as Matlab and LabVIEW is a strong plus.