Special Sessions & Workshops

Organizer: Sreekant Narumanchi (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Presenters: Andrew Binder (Sandia National Laboratories), Jun Cui (Ames National Laboratory), Shajjad Chowdhury (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Gilbert Moreno, and Sreekant Narumanchi (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Overall Abstract: This Special Session will present state of the art, challenges, and opportunities for reliable and high-performance traction drive systems for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle applications.

 

Presenters

Sreekant Narumanchi
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Presentation Title: Overview

Abstract: An overview will be presented covering power die/chips, magnetic materials for power electronics and electric motors, power modules, inverter/converter and electric motors, thermal management, reliability, and digital twin diagnostics and prognostics in the context of medium- and heavy-duty on-road vehicle applications.

Biography: Sreekant Narumanchi is a Distinguished Member of Research Staff and the Group Manager of the Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines (APEEM) group within the Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, CO, U.S.A. He is an ASME Fellow, and an IEEE Senior Member. He has published over 135 peer-reviewed journal- and conference papers and book chapters, and 6 patents in packaging, thermal management and reliability. Professionally, he is active as an Associate Editor, a conference organizer, on advisory boards, and in leading technical committees. He has received multiple recognitions from ASME and IEEE.

 

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Andrew Binder
Sandia National Laboratories

Presentation Title: Power Semiconductor Devices for Electric Drivetrains

Abstract: Next-generation power semiconductor devices are a key enabler in achieving the DOE targets for electric drivetrains. Developing new semiconductor devices is a costly and time-intensive process. Towards this end, high-fidelity models can be leveraged to predict the performance advantages of next-generation semiconductors, and those models can be deployed at the system level to understand the key advantages and true impact of new materials and devices. This talk will highlight the power semiconductors thrust within the NEXT-DRIVE project and the key experimental and modelling framework that is being established to create next-generation baselines.

Biography: Andrew T. Binder is a Principal Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories. His research is focused on the development of kilovolt-class power semiconductor devices. Andrew leads a multidisciplinary team developing vertical GaN JBS and MOSFET devices as well as SiC BiDFETs. Under his leadership this team has successfully demonstrated a new process for vertical GaN trench MOSFETs at Sandia, an accomplishment which was selected to be featured in the 2021 U.S. DRIVE Highlight by the DOE. In addition to microfabrication, his research background includes a focus on the physics and modelling of breakdown for wide-bandgap power devices.

 

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Jun Cui
Ames National Laboratory

Presentation Title: Magnetic Materials for EV Traction Motors and Power Electronics

Abstract: Magnetic materials are essential to EV motors and drive systems. Their development—spanning magnets, stator/rotor laminates, EMI filters, and inductors—focuses on boosting power density and efficiency while reducing the cost, and more recently, the supply risk. This talk reviews key challenges and recent progress. It covers both rare-earth and rare-earth-free permanent magnets; compares high-silicon, amorphous, and nanocrystalline electrical steels; and explores materials for filters and inductors, including soft ferrites, soft magnetic composites, and nitrides. The goal is to identify paths toward scalable, high-performance solutions for next-generation EV power electronics and motor systems.

Biography: Dr. Jun Cui specializes in ferroic materials for energy-efficient and renewable applications, including work on permanent magnets, high-silicon steel, high-entropy alloys, elastocaloric metals, and cryogenic magnetocalorics. He leads research in high-throughput materials synthesis and characterization. Before joining Iowa State University and Ames National Laboratory in 2015, he held positions at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and GE Global Research. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland. Dr. Cui holds 10 patents, 15 pending applications, and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications.

 

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Shajjad Chowdhury
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Presentation Title: Electric Drive Components for Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Abstract: This presentation will explore current and emerging technologies aimed at significantly enhancing the operational lifetime and performance of medium-duty and heavy-duty electric traction drive units. While innovations from light-duty vehicle applications offer a foundation, additional advancements are required to meet the demanding targets set by the DOE and the 21st Century Truck Partnership’s Electrification Technologies Sector team. The presenter will highlight proven technologies, potential adaptations, and novel approaches that promise improved efficiency, durability, and reliability. Emphasis will be placed on overcoming cost barriers and enabling mass market adoption through breakthroughs in materials, design, and system integration.

Biography: Shajjad Chowdhury received the M.Sc. degree in power and control engineering from Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, U.K., in 2011, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K., in 2016. In January 2017, he joined the Power Electronics, Machines and Control Group, University of Nottingham, as a Research Fellow. In 2018, he joined the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA, where he is currently working as a Senior Research Staff with the Electric Drive Research Group. His research interests include multilevel converters, modulation schemes, and high-performance ac drives.

 

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Gilbert Moreno
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Title: Thermal Management and Thermo-Mechanical Reliability (Power Electronics and Electric Motor)

Abstract: The presentation will provide an overview of automotive power electronics and electric machines thermal management systems that are typical for light-duty vehicles. Unique thermal and environmental aspects related to medium and heavy-duty vehicle applications will then be discussed. Finally, advanced thermal management and packaging technologies that could be evaluated and used in this project will be described.

Biography: Gilbert Moreno is a senior research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory where he conducts research into the thermal management of power electronics. He has worked at NREL for over 15 years developing advanced cooling technologies for various DOE and strategic partnership projects. He is an ASME Fellow.

Title: Title: NREL Activities and Capabilities in Electronics Packaging Across Multiple Applications

Organizer: Jimil Shah (Mara Holdings)

Presenters: David Sickinger, Ramanathan Thiagarajan, and Sreekant Narumanchi (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Abstract: This special session will involve researchers/managers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) providing an overview of their groups, centers, and activities at the intersection of electronics packaging and applications such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, data centers, grid-tied power electronics and systems, vehicles, and other energy-efficiency applications. The intent will be to share NREL information with the audience with the intent of promoting interactions and collaborations.

Presenters

Biography: David Sickinger is a researcher in the Advanced Computing Operations Group within the Computational Science Center at NREL. Since 2012, he has been involved with the operation of the mechanical systems supporting NREL's High Performance Computing data center. His research focus is on energy-/water- efficient data center facilities, liquid-cooling technologies, and currently leading a project team to evaluate next generation of cooling technologies being developed by teams in the ARPA-E COOLERCHIPS program. He has a MS degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona, and is a Data Center Energy Practitioner (DCEP - from the U.S. Department of Energy).

 

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Biography: Ramanathan Thiagarajan is a researcher with the Power Systems Engineering Center at NREL since February 2018. He has experience in design, testing, and characterization of power converters from low- voltage to medium-voltage scale from tens to hundreds of kilowatts of power. He has worked in multiple U.S. Department of Energy efforts on the topic of reliability of photovoltaic inverters from modeling to hardware design to standards development. He also works with power utilities for addressing challenges associated with grid integration of renewables. He has served as the hardware lead for multiple projects involving development of a test bed to characterize inverter response to grid disturbances. His expertise lies at the intersection of power systems and power electronics.

 

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Biography: Sreekant Narumanchi is a Distinguished Member of Research Staff and Group Manager of the Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines (APEEM) group within the Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Center at NREL. He is an ASME Fellow, and an IEEE Senior Member. He has published over 135 peer-reviewed journal- and conference papers and book chapters, and received 6 patents in packaging, thermal management and reliability for (power) electronics and electric machines for vehicles, and multiple other applications. Professionally, he is active as an Associate Editor, conference organizer, on advisory boards, and in technical committees. He has received multiple recognitions from ASME and IEEE.

 

Organizer: Jimil Shah (Mara Holdings)

Abstract: The Center for Energy-Smart Electronic Systems (ES2) is a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center whose mission is to advance the energy efficiency and sustainability of electronic systems—especially data centers—through novel methodologies, dynamic control, and smart integration of resources. Founded in 2011, ES2 brings together government, academia, and industry partners to address the escalating energy demands driven by data-intensive technologies (e.g. Internet of Things, AI, cryptocurrency, cloud computing) and to reduce waste and inefficiencies in how electronic systems are designed, deployed, and operated.

Our vision is to enable electronic systems and data centers that are dynamic, self- sensing, and self-regulating, capable of operating at any prescribed performance level with optimized energy usage by means of smart load allocation, on-demand cooling, and holistic waste elimination.

ES2's research themes include, but are not limited to:

• Holistic IT load management and control
• Advanced cooling technologies, including air cooling, warm-water liquid cooling, two-phase and immersion cooling, and embedded cooling
• Thermal management through airflow modeling, containment and predictive thermal control under dynamic loads
• Energy distribution, storage, and hybrid AC/DC systems; instrumentation and control systems for real-time monitoring and adaptive response; waste heat recovery and energy harvesting.

To support these research efforts, ES2 maintains substantial facilities across its partner universities, namely Binghamton, UT Arlington and Villanova. A key strength of ES2 is its collaborative framework: member companies not only provide financial support, but also help define research priorities, provide real-world insight, and mentor students. Faculty, students and industry representatives work together on research that is both scientifically rigorous and practically relevant.

In this panel, we will present ES2’s recent advances, opportunities and challenges in deploying energy-smart electronic systems, and explore future directions: integrating AI and machine learning for predictive control; scaling cooling and power solutions for next-generation high-density computing; getting better real-time sensing; and addressing economic, environmental, and policy barriers to adoption. We will also discuss how ES2’s model of industry-university collaboration accelerates innovation and the translation of research into practice.

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Panelists

Biography: Bahgat Sammakia is a Distinguished SUNY Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Binghamton University. He's also the founding director of S3IP, a New York State Center of Excellence at Binghamton and the co-founding Director of an NSF Industry University Cooperative University Center focused on energy optimization in Data Centers (ES2). His research covers several broad areas, including energy optimization in data centers, electronics systems integration and packaging, flexible electronics and thermal management of electronic devices and systems.

He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the National Academy of Inventors and the IEEE. Sammakia, a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, was honored with the 2010 ITherm Achievement Award for his contributions to the field of semiconductor thermal management as well as the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award in 2020.

Sammakia, who holds 40 U.S. patents, has authored or co-authored more than 400 peer-reviewed technical papers with over 10,000 citations. He has supervised 25 Ph.D. students and currently has 9 PhD students and a post-doctoral fellow in his research group.

A former IBM senior technical staff member, Sammakia joined Binghamton University's faculty in 1998. He served as the interim president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute from December 2016 to June 2018 and Was the VP for research from 2011 to 2025. Sammakia earned doctoral and master's degrees from the University at Buffalo and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania from 1982 to 1984.

 

Biography: Dr. Alfonso Ortega is the James R. Birle Professor of Energy Technology at Villanova University and Professor of Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering. He is the Director of the Laboratory for Advanced Thermal and Fluid Systems which he has led for over 30 years. He is the Founding Director of the Villanova site of the NSF Center for Energy Smart Electronic Systems (ES2) founded in 2011. He currently is the co-Director of the Villanova Strategic Initiative for Climate, Justice, and Sustainability, a university wide academic initiative. Formerly he was the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research in the College of Engineering and Villanova's inaugural Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Programs. Dr. Ortega received his B.S. from The University of Texas-El Paso, and his M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, all in Mechanical Engineering. He was on the faculty of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at The University of Arizona in Tucson for 18 years. For two years, he served as the Program Director for Thermal Transport and Thermal Processing in the Chemical and Transport Systems Division of The National Science Foundation, where he managed the NSF's primary program funding heat transfer and thermal technology research in U.S. universities. He is an internationally recognized expert in thermal and energy management in electronic systems and in experimental measurements in the thermal-fluid sciences. He is a Fellow of the ASME and received the 2003 SEMITHERM THERMI Award and the 2017 ITHERM Achievement Award. In 2023 he received the SEMI-THERM Hall of Fame Award for his career contributions to the field.

 

Biography: Dereje Agonafer is a Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He heads two centers and is "Site Director of NSF IUCRC in Energy Efficient Systems" and Director of "Electronics, MEMS and Nanoelectronics Systems Packaging Center." After receiving his PhD at Howard University, he worked for 15 years at IBM where he eventually was IBM Center of Competence for Computer Aided Thermal Engineering (CATE). In 1991, the value of his contribution to CATE at IBM was recognized by being awarded the "IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award in Appreciation for Computer Aided Thermal Modeling." Since joining UT Arlington in 1999, he has graduated 259 graduate students (a record for the University) including 35 PhDs. Professor Agonafer is currently advising 15 PhDs and 13 MS students. His current primary research areas are in energy efficiency of data centers, thermal and reliability challenges in heterogeneous integrated systems, 3D packaging and cooling and Reliability Assessment for Micro and Power Electronic Systems. Professor Agonafer has served in several boards including at Howard University, University of Colorado Boulder, City College of New York and Princeton University. He has won several awards for his work in electronic cooling. Each year, SEMI-THERM honors a person as a Significant Contributor to the field of semiconductor thermal management. The THERMI award is intended to recognize a recipient's history of contributions to crucial thermal issues affecting the performance of semiconductor devices and systems. Professor Agonafer received the Thermi Award at the 24th Annual Semi-Therm, March 2008, in San Jose, California. In 2009 he received the InterPACK Excellence Award as cited by the Department Head - "A seal of Dereje's excellence in research, standing and recognition in electronic packaging and a reflection of UTA's rise within the international community." In May 2014, he received the ITHERM Achievement, in recognition of significant contributions made in thermal and thermomechanical management of electronics. Professor Agonafer was selected as the 2014 NSBE Golden Torch Award honoree for Golden Torch Legacy Award and was saluted at the "17th Annual Golden Torch Awards (GTA)" on March 29, 2014 in Nashville, TN. In 1998, he received a Distinguished Alum Award from the University of Colorado Boulder and Distinguished PhD Alum Award from Howard University. In 2012, he was the recipient of Howard University College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science "Dean's Centennial Award for Distinguished Engineering Scholarship and Service." Professor Agonafer was a Martin Luther King Visiting Professor at MIT during the 2007 academic year. He is a Fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Life Fellow of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers International (ASME) and Life Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). In 2019, he received the American Society of Mechanical Engineers prestigious Heat Transfer Memorial Award. The highlight of his professional career was being elected to the National Academy of Engineering. According to Dean Crouch, "the first current faculty member elected to the Academy."

Organizers:
• Tiwei Wei, University of California, Los Angeles
• Solomon Adera, University of Michigen
• Xiangyu Li, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Abstract: This workshop, sponsored by the ASME K-16 Committee, aims to provide a shared platform for individuals seeking career guidance on topics such as professional growth, career transitions, networking, and other concerns beyond their immediate circles—without any formal obligations. Senior experts from academia, industry, and national labs will share their contact information through a dedicated LinkedIn platform, allowing interested mentees to reach out for advice on an as-needed basis. This initiative not only connects mentees to a broader professional network but also offers valuable external perspectives on their career progress.

The workshop will feature three senior experts who will share their personal career journeys, highlighting how timely mentorship and peer support helped them achieve both short-term and long-term goals. Their stories will reinforce the importance of accessible mentoring platforms that serve the broader engineering community. The session will conclude with an overview of the agenda and roadmap for this mentoring program.

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Presenters

Biography: Jorge Padilla is a Staff Product Design Engineer at Google where, since 2014, he has developed and delivered IT thermal management technologies at scale for Google data centers. He has co-chaired technical sessions and co-organized tracks at the IThem and InterPACK conference since 2017. He has published in conference proceedings, peer-reviewed journals and is a co-inventor on 19 patents. Prior to joining Google, he earned a PhD in mechanical engineering from the UC Berkeley where he focused on water droplet vaporization from nanostructured surfaces in the Energy and Multiphase Transport Laboratory led by Prof. Van Carey. Jorge holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from MIT where he developed a Brayton cycle demonstration apparatus with Professor Ernie Cravalho.

 

Biography: Gilbert Moreno is a senior research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) where he conducts research into the thermal management of power electronics. He has worked at NREL for over 16 years developing advanced cooling technologies for various Department of Energy and industry funded projects. Gilbert received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso (2001) and his M.S. (2005) and Ph.D. (2009) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fellow and an IEEE Senior Member.

 

 

Biography: Dr. Yoonjin Won is currently a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, with courtesy appointments in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Materials Science Engineering. Dr. Won's research focuses on multiphase thermal science, integrating AI for science and experiment, scientific machine learning, and materials design. She is a leader of the DoD funded multi-university research initiative (MURI), ML4Heat. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the ASME Electronic & Photonic Packaging Division Early Career Award, the ASME Electronic & Photonic Packaging Division Women Engineer Award, the ASME ICNMM Outstanding Leadership Award, the Emerging Innovation/Early Career Innovator from UCI Beall Innovation Center, Faculty Excellence in Research Awards (Mid-Career) from UCI, and numerous best paper and poster awards. Yoonjin Won received her B.S. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. For more information on Dr. Won's qualifications and research group, please visit won.eng.uci.edu.