Principle Investigator
Damena Agonafer
PI, Associate Professor and Clark Fellow Faculty
EDUCATION
- PhD, Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana., 2012
- MSc, Carnegie Mellon, 2006
- BSc, University of Texas at Arlington, 2004
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Professor Agonafer’s research interest is at the intersection of thermal-fluid sciences, interfacial transport phenomena, and renewable energy. He is focused on developing novel materials and systems for thermal management of power and microelectronic systems, as well as for thermochemical and electrochemical energy storage applications. His goal is to achieve transformational changes in technologies by tuning and controlling solid-liquid-vapor interactions at micro/nano length scales. Specific areas of focus include the development of novel materials for phase change heat transfer, thermochemical and electrochemical energy storage; interfacial transport Phenomena, and micro/nanofluidics. He works to develop 3D electrodes for energy storage devices used to harvest free energy of solutions.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Graduate Students
Kidus Guye
Kidus is currently pursuing his doctoral study at University of Maryland at College Park. He received his bachelor’s degree from Addis Ababa University and his master’s degree from South Dakota State University in Mechanical Engineering. His current study entails simulation and experimental studies to improve the performance of cooling technology for electronics devices using hollow micropillar devices.
Vivek Manepalli
Vivek Manepalli is a PhD student at University of Maryland at College Park in the Mechanical Engineering department. He has a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters degree in Physics from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani India and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Colorado Boulder. His past research experiences include thermal-fluid simulations, experimental phase change heat transfer studies, design of test fixtures, vacuum systems and thermal management of electronics. At NEIT, Vivek is working on developing a new environmental chamber for testing novel electronics cooling methods, and optimizing the cooling technologies through simulations and experimentation. Outside of research, he likes to travel and indulge in photography.