General Conference Chairs
Rohini Bala Chandran, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan
Dr. Rohini Bala Chandran is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan since January 2018. Previously, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and obtained an M.S. (2010) and Ph.D. (2015) from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, in Mechanical Engineering. At Michigan, Prof. Bala Chandran leads the Transport and Reaction Engineering for Sustainable Energy Lab (TREE Lab) to pursue multidisciplinary research in the areas of thermal, fluids and chemical sciences. Dr. Bala Chandran is a recipient of the Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer (2023), NSF-CAREER award (2022), Doctoral New Investigator award from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (2021), and one of 100 selected attendees at the US Frontiers of Engineering meeting organized by the National Academy of Engineering (2020).
Pei Dong, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
George Mason University
Pei Dong is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She obtained her B.S. in Microelectronics from Nankai University and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University. She then did her postdoctoral research in the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University before joining George Mason University. She is the recipient of the Franz and Frances Brotzen Fellowship Award, Best Thesis Award, Materials Today Energy Promising Early Career Scientists Award, NSF CAREER Award, College of Engineering Computing Faculty Excellence Award and ASME Rising Star of Mechanical Engineering. Her current research interests include the design and synthesis of advanced materials, device fabrication, and system integration in the areas of energy, water, and biomedical applications.
Technical Program Chairs
Like Li, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Central Florida
Dr. Like Li is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Central Florida. He was an Associate Professor and Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University (2017-2023). He leads the Thermal Energy Storage and Decarbonization (TESD) Lab focusing on advanced energy storage technologies research, development and demonstration (R&DD) to contribute to the transition to a clean and decarbonized energy future. His group has received funding from federal agencies and industries including the NSF, DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office, NASA, Army Research Laboratory, and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The current research in his group focuses on gas-solid reactions and thermal/chemical transport in materials and reactors, and thermochemical reactors design, development, and demonstration for solar and other renewable energy storage and utilization.
Hailei Wang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Utah State University
Dr. Hailei Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Utah State University and the Director of the Energy Technology Research & Innovation (eTRI) Lab. He has broad research expertise in heat transfer and advanced energy system modeling. His work has been funded by various agencies including the NRC, DOD, and various DOE offices such as Office of Nuclear Energy, Solar Energy Technology Office, ARPA-E, Building Technology Office and Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Program. His energy system research and thermal modeling work had also been supported by various corporations including Cummins, Medtronic, Thermo Fisher and NuScale Power. He has published over 60 journal and conference papers, and holds three granted patents and multiple patent applications.
Technical Program Co-Chairs
Shuang Cui, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
University of Texas at Dallas
Dr. Shuang Cui currently is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas and also a joint faculty in the Buildings and Thermal Sciences Center at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Prior to that, Dr. Cui was a research scientist at NREL. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on sustainable energy and water solutions in critical domains, including advanced thermal energy storage for smart buildings and industrial decarbonization, intelligent and sustainable materials and structures for clean water and energy, and nanoscale heat transfer and energy conversion. Dr. Cui received the Best Reviewer Award from American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers and President's Award for Exceptional Performance from NREL. She is also highlighted by the Department of Energy's (DOE) "Women @ Energy: STEM Rising" and has been a invited participant of the Rising Stars Women in Engineering Workshop at Seoul National University (Korea).
Aggrey Mwesigye, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical and
Manufacturing Engineering
University of Calgary
Aggrey Mwesigye is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Makerere University, an M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pretoria. His research focuses on the design, modelling, and optimization of advanced sustainable thermal energy systems, including concentrating solar thermal energy systems, thermal energy storage systems, solar-assisted heat pump systems, and advanced refrigeration systems. He has published over 90 journal articles and conference papers and holds 1 patent. He received the Applied Energy Award for the highly cited paper in 2020 and a Best Paper award at the 9th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference of the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers. Dr. Mwesigye is a registered Professional Engineer with Professional Engineers Ontario and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.
Andrew J. Schraderr, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
University of Dayton
Dr. Andrew J. Schrader has been an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Dayton since January 2020. He was a postdoctoral research fellow, obtained a M.S. (2017), and Ph.D. (2019) from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering. At Dayton, he is the director of the Dayton Thermal Applications (DaTA) laboratory with Dr. Rydge Mulford and is the founder of the University of Dayton Supercritical CO2 Interdisciplinary Research Center. His active research areas include the storage of process heat using particulate ceramics and thermochemically active materials, the development and optimization of sCO2 power cycles, the thermal management of aerospace vehicles, and novel applications of solar process heat. Dr. Schrader is a recipient of the Valparaiso University Alumni Association First Decade Achievement Award (2024) for his contributions to research and mentoring of future engineers and scientists.
Sarvenaz Sobhansarbandi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
California State University, Sacramento
Dr. Sarvenaz Sobhansarbandi is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and director of Advanced Renewable/Thermal Energy (ART-E) laboratory at California State University, Sacramento. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Texas at Dallas in 2017. Her research interests include renewable energy, solar energy, computational fluid dynamics/hybrid numerical modeling with the focus on thermal and energy analysis, and design/optimization of thermal management systems. Dr. Sobhansarbandi has gained several years of research experience in the broad area of Thermo-Fluids, particularly solar energy technology, thermal energy storage and nanomaterials. She had exposure to design/modeling of technical issues both by simulation and in real field-testing. Dr. Sobhansarbandi has served as the PI on multiple funded projects from the federal and national organizations such as US Department of Transportation (DOT).