Zhiting Tian receives Office of Naval Research Young Investigator award

Zhiting Tian, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, has received an Office of Naval Research (ONR) 2018 Young Investigator award to study enhancing thermal transport at solid-solid interfaces.

The work will be done as part of ONR’s Ship Systems and Engineering Research Program.

Developing energy-efficient heat removal technologies is critical to the performance, reliability, and lifetime of electronic devices. This three-year, $510,000 project aims to significantly advance the fundamental knowledge of interfacial thermal transport, enabling the rational design of thermal interfaces with ultralow thermal interface resistance for efficient cooling of electronics.

The Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program (ONR YIP) is one of the nation’s oldest and most selective science and technology basic research programs. Its purpose is to fund early-career academic researchers whose scientific pursuits show outstanding promise for supporting the Department of Defense, while also promoting their professional development. Tian is one of only 31 awardees this year, selected from more than 340 applicants, and selected based on past performance, technical merit, potential for scientific breakthrough, and long-term university commitment.

In addition to the ONR award, Tian has also received a 2017 National Science Foundation CAREER award, the 2017 American Chemistry Society Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award, the 2017 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, and the 2017 College of Engineering Dean’s Award for Outstanding New Assistant Professor.