Principle investigator: Xiaojia Wang (X.J. Wang)
Education:
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2012-2014), Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ph.D. (2011), Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
M.E. (2007) and B.E. (2004), Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Xiaojia Wang is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, starting from March 2014. Prior to this, she was a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she performed research in the thermal properties of materials using ultrafast laser spectroscopy under Prof. David G. Cahill's supervision. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in December 2011. Her Ph.D. work in Prof. Zhuomin Zhang's group focused on the optical characterization of thermal radiation at the micro- and nanoscale for energy conversion and harvesting. She earned her M.E. in 2007 under Prof. Wenquan Tao's guidance, and B.E. in 2004 from Xi'an Jiaotong University, China, both in Mechanical Engineering.
Graduate students:
Dingbin Huang (Ph.D., Fall 2018 - Present)
Office: ME57; Email: [email protected]
Bio: I am a Ph.D. candidate working on investigating magnetization dynamics in materials used for spintronics and magnetic recording by utilizing time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TR-MOKE). I enjoy biking, hiking, and reading in my spare time.
- University of Minnesota, Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2022 - 2023)
- University of Minnesota, Department Fellowship (2018 - 2019)
- Invited talks at ASRC and MINT Review Meetings
Chi Zhang (Ph.D., Fall 2019 - Present)
Office: ME57; Email: [email protected]
Bio: I am a Ph.D. candidate working on investigating thermal transport properties of materials by time-domain thermoreflectance technique (TDTR). I enjoy playing basketball, reading and playing chess in my spare time.
- University of Minnesota, Department Fellowship (2019 - 2020)
Yun Kim (Ph.D., Fall 2022 - Present)
Office: ME57; Email: Email: [email protected]
Bio: I am a Ph.D. student and will be working on both experimental and theoretical studies of magnetization dynamics of materials for spintronic and data storage applications. I am a cat lover and enjoy travelling, hiking, and cooking in my spare time.
University of Minnesota, Department Fellowship (2022 - 2023)
Xiaotian Xu (Ph.D., Fall 2022 - Present)
Office: ME57; Email: [email protected]
Bio: I am a Ph.D. student and will be working on studying thermal transport properties of functional materials for energy-related applications using TDTR. I like travelling and playing Chinese table tennis (I am a good player on this!).
- University of Minnesota, Department Fellowship (2022 - 2023)
Austin Gage (UG researcher, Fall 2023 - Present)
Office: ME57; Email: [email protected]
Bio: I am a undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering. I am working as a undergraduate researcher on thermal transport and electronic cooling. In my spare time, I enjoy working on my car and listening to music.
Former Group Members
Postdocs
Dr. Jie Zhu (December 2014 - March 2018)
Ph.D., Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (2011)
B.S., University of Science and Technology of China, China (2004)
Research Interest:
- Time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) method for multiple thermophysical properties determination in nano-scale layered structures.
- Interfacial thermal conductance characterization including solid-liquid interface, organic/inorganic interface, and et al.
Ph.D.
Dr. Xuewang Wu (2014 - 2019)
Current position: Lam Research
Dissertation: “Thermal Transport in Functional Materials and across Interfaces”
- University of Minnesota, Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2017 - 2018)
- University of Minnesota, Department Fellowship (2014 - 2015)
Dr. Dustin Lattery (2015 - 2020)
Current position: Seagate
Dissertation: “Time-Resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect for the Study of Ultrafast Magnetization Dynamics in Magnetic Thin Films”
- University of Minnesota, Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2019 - 2020)
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (Spring 2015)
- ASME/NIH Student Travel Award for the 4th World Congress of NEMB (Spring 2015)
Yingying Zhang (Ph.D., Fall 2017 - 2022)
Current position: Intel
Dissertation: “Understanding and Tailoring Thermal Transport in Materials and Across Interfaces”
- Best Student Poster Award for the MRS Fall Meeting in Boston (12/2021)
- NSF Student Travel Grant for the ASME/IMECE Conference (11/2018)
- University of Minnesota, Department Fellowship (2017 - 2018)
Lis Stolik Valor (Ph.D., Fall 2016 - 2018)
Last known: Ph.D. in Physics
Wiliam Peria (Ph.D., Fall 2017 - 2019)
Last known: Postdoc at LANL
Masters
Matthew Thompson (M.S., Fall 2019 - Summer 2021)
Thesis: "Thermal Transport in Glass and Ceramic Microspheres by Ultrafast Pump-Probe Techniques"
Wei Zheng (2015 - 2017)
Thesis: "Study of the Birefringence of Black Phosphorus by Picosecond Interferometry"
Visiting Scholars
Dr. Saichao Dang (Fall 2019 - Fall 2020)
Ph.D., University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China
B.E. University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China
Research Interest:
- Band-selective nano/microstructure for energy saving
- Microwave/infrared stealth
- EM wave calculation by RCWA
Dr. Haidong Ma (Fall 2016 - Summer 2018)
Ph.D., Xi'an Jiaotong University, China (2019)
B.E. Xi'an jiaotong University, China (2012)
Research Interest:
- Slagging and ash deposition during coal combustion
- Dew-point corrosion and high temperature corrosion
Dr. Hu Zhang (2015)
Ph.D., Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
B.S., Xi'an Jiaotong University, China (2009)
Research Interest:
- Characterization of optical and radiative properties
- Thermal insulation evaluation, mechanism and optimization of high porous materials
- Measurement of heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of heat exchanger
Undergraduate Researchers
Carlex Morales-Cruz (REU student, summer 2018)
Project: Thin film sputtering
Johanna Jernberg (REU student, summer 2018)
Project: 3D printing of sample holders for TR-MOKE measurements
Yixin Chen (01/2017-02/2017)
Wuhan University, China
B.E. Energy and Power Engineering, Wuhan University, China (Fall 2013)
Project: Optical and radiative properties of metamaterials
Seungho Mok (Summer 2014)
M.S., Spring 2015 - present, Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
B.S., Fall 2014 Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Research Interest: Impact of connecting different types of energy simulation model for data center cooling and waste heat re-utilization