Morrin-Martinelli-Gier Memorial Heat Transfer Laboratory
University of California, Los Angeles

MEMBERS

Faculty
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students
Visiting Scholars
Past Members

Lab Member's Awards and Honors

Faculty

Prof. Laurent Pilon

Curriculum vitae

Professional Experience

University of California, Los Angeles, California - USA

2012-present - Professor
2008-2012 - Associate Professor
2002-2008 - Assistant Professor

Education

PhD Mechanical Engineering - Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 2002
MS Applied Physics - Grenoble Institute of Technology, France, 1997
BS Applied Physics - Grenoble Institute of Technology, France, 1997

Honors and Awards

2023 Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Award, Purdue University, School of Mechanical Engineering
2021 ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award
2018 Special Recognition for Exceptional Service to the ASME Journal of Heat Transfer
2018 Elected member - Scientific Council of the International Center for Heat and Mass Transfer
2015 ASME Fellow
2015 Most Valued Reviewer of JQSRT
2014 Raymond Viskanta Fellowship, Purdue University, IN.
2013-2015 Research Chair for Junior Scientist, Région Pays de la Loire, France.
2012 Best Paper Award (2nd Prize) - 3rd ASME MNHMT Conference, Atlanta, GA
2011 Elected SPIE Senior Member
2011 Henry and Susan Samueli Teaching Award from UCLA MAE Dept.
2009 JQSRT Young Scientist Award in Radiative Transfer from Elsevier
2008 Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer from ASME
2005 Northrup Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award from UCLA Engineering
2005 National Science Foundation CAREER Award
2003 UCLA Faculty Development Award

Post-Doctoral Scholars and Visiting Scholars

Dr. Michal Marszewski

Chuanxin Zhang

PhD Chemistry, Kent State University, Kent, OH 2016

PhD student at Harbin Institute of Technology

Graduate Students

	Sara Vallejo-Castano		Matevž Frajnkovič
	*PhD student*		*PhD student co-advised with Prof. Ivan Catton*
	B.S. Chem.E. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Colombia, 2014 M.S. Chem.E. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medellín, Colombia, 2017		BSME, University of Maribor, Slovenia, 2015. MSME, University of Maribor, Slovenia, 2017.
	Zhenyu She		Tiphaine Galy
	*PhD student co-advised with Prof. Gaurav Sant*		*PhD student*
	BSME, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi, China, 2015		BSME, Ecole des Arts et Metiers ParisTech, France, 2016

	Eylul Simsek		Ampol Likitchatchawankum
	*PhD student*		*PhD student*
	BSME, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 2013 MSME, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, 2016		Dipl.-Ing., TU München, Germany, 2013

	Obaidallah Munteshari		Zenhua Wei
	*PhD student*		*PhD student co-advised with Prof. Gaurav Sant (chair)*
	BSME, KFUPM 2011 MSME, KFUPM 2014		BS, Huazhong Agricultural Univ. 2010 MS, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2013

Undergraduate Students

	Daniel Huang		Zhaojiang He
	BSME, expected Spring 2020		BSME, expected Fall 2019
	Yucheng Zhou		Yoichiro Rokushima
	BSME, expected Spring 2019		BSME, expected Summer 2019

Past Members

Post-Doctoral and Visiting Scholars

	An-Shen Siao January 2017-January 2018		Prof. Keyong Zhu February 2016-February 2017
	BSME Private Chinese Culture University, Taiwan, 2011 MSME National Formosa University, Taiwan, 2013. Ph.D. at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology		Prof. Zhu visited us from Beihang University (BUAA), Beijing, China
	Dr. Arka Bhowmik		Prof. Hong Qi Sept. 2011-Sept. 2012
	PhD, IIT Ropar, India, 2015 MS, Univ. of Shefield, UK, 2009 BSME, Amravati Univ., 2007		Harbin Institute of Technology, China
	Dr. Julian Vargheses now at DS Spatial, Colorado		Prof. Bo Zhang January - July 2007
	PhD, Texas A&M, 2009 MSAE, Texas A&M, 2003 BSME, Univ. of Kerala, 2000		Dr. Zhang spent six months with us from January to July 2007 as a visiting scholar. He return to Dalian where he is Professor at Dalian University of Technology.
	Rei Kitamura Asahi Glass Corporation, Japan Sept. 2005- Sept. 2007		Dr. Juan Yin now at Solar Turbines, San Diego, CA
	BSME Tokyo University, 1997 MSME Tokyo University, 1999		PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2004 MSME, Tsinghua University, 2000 BSME, Tsinghua University, 1997

Former PhD students

	Dr. Bing-Ang Mei		Dr. Zenhua Wei
			*co-advised with Prof. Gaurav Sant*
	BSME, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 2013 PhD, UCLA, 2018		BS, Huazhong Agricultural Univ. 2010 MS, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2013 PhD, UCLA, 2016
PhD Thesis: Physical Interpretations and Electrode Design Guidelines for Electrochemical Capacitors		PhD Thesis: Durability of Cementitious Composites Containing Phase Change Materials (PCMs)
	Dr. Alexander Thiele		Dr. Joseph Attia
	Now with Exponent, Inc.		Now with SpaceX, Hawthorne, CA
	BSME, WSU, Pullman, WA, 2012 MSME, UCLA 2014 PhD, UCLA, 2016		BSME, Caltech, 2006 MSME, UCLA, 2008 PhD, UCLA, 2016
PhD Thesis: Microencapsulated Phase Change Composite Materials for Energy Efficient Buildings		PhD Thesis: Transport Phenomena in Liquid Foams and Liquid Marbles Colloids
	Dr. Anna D'Entremont		Dr. Ri-Liang Heng
	Now at Savannah River National laboratory, South Carolina		Now Managing Director, Wholly Green, Pte Ltd, Singapore
	BSME, Clemson University, 2010 MSME, UCLA 2013 PhD, UCLA, 2015		BSME, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2010 MSME, UCLA 2012 PhD, UCLA, 2015
PhD Thesis: Thermal Modeling of Electrochemical Capacitors		PhD Thesis: Radiation Characteristics of Biofuel-Producing Photosynthetic Microorganisms
	Dr. Ian McKinley		Dr. Razmig Kandilian
	Now at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA		Now at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA
	BSME, Columbia University, 2010 MSME, UCLA, 2011 PhD, UCLA, 2013 Clean Green IGERT Fellowship		BSME, UCLA 2009 MSME, UCLA 2010 PhD, UCLA, 2014 Clean Green IGERT Fellowship
PhD Thesis: Thermomechanical Energy Conversion Using Ferroelectric Materials		PhD Thesis: Optimization and Control of Light Transfer in Photobioreactors for Biofuel Production
	Dr. Hainan Wang		Dr. Euntaek Lee
	Now at Cadence, San Jose, CA		now at Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, South Korea
	BSME, University of Science and Technology China, 2006 MSME, Notre Dame Univ., 2008 PhD, UCLA, 2013		MSME KAIST, South Korea, 2008 PhD, UCLA, 2013
PhD Thesis: Modeling and Simulation of Electrical Energy Storage In Electrochemical Capacitors		PhD Thesis: Light Transfer Simulation Tools in Photobiological Fuel Production
	Dr. Dmitry Yudovsky		Dr. Jin Fang
	now founder and CEO of DySci, Santa Monica, CA		now at Seagate, Saint Paul, MN
	BSME, UC San Diego, 2006		BSME, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 2006
	MSME, UCLA, 2008		MSME, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 2008
	PhD, UCLA, 2010		PhD, UCLA, 2012
PhD Thesis: Spectroscopy of Multilayered Biological Tissues for Diabetes Care.		PhD Thesis: Thermal Transport in Nanoporous Materials for Energy Applications
	Dr. Ashcon Navid		Dr. Thomas Coquil
	Now at Intel Corp., Portland, OR		now co-founder and CEO of Solaire Box, Paris, France
	BSME, UCLA, 2006		B.S. Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France, 2008
	MSME, UCLA, 2007		M.S. UCLA and Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France, 2008
	PhD, UCLA, 2010		PhD, UCLA, 2010
PhD Thesis: Pyroelectric Energy Conversion for Waste Heat Harvesting.		PhD Thesis: Thermal and Optical Properties of Highly Ordered Mesoporous Materials for Energy Applications.
	Dr. Kamal M. Katika		Dr. Halil Berberoglu
	Now at Field Street Capital Management LLC, New York, NY		Now at Apple, Cupertino, CA
	BSME, ITT Madras, 2002		BSME, Purdue University, 2000
	MSME, UCLA, 2004		MSME, Purdue University, 2003
	PhD UCLA, 2007		PhD, UCLA, 2008
PhD Thesis: Transient Radiation Transport in Biological Tissues and Applications to Autofluorescence of Human Skin.		PhD Thesis: Photobiological Hydrogen Production and Carbon Dioxide Mitigation.

Former MS students

	Benjamin Young *co-advised with Prof. Gaurav Sant*		Louis Linden, MS
	*PhD student*		Now at Southern California Edison
	BSME, UCLA 2015		B.S. George Mason Univ. 2015
	MSME, UCLA, 2017		MSME, UCLA, 2017
		MS Thesis: Energy Analysis for Producing Low-Carbon Footprint Cementitious Building Materials
	Alex Ricklefs, MS		Henri-Louis Girard, MS
	Now at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability		Now at MIT
	BSME, UC San Diego, 2012		B.S. Ecole Polytechnique, France, 2013
	MSME, UCLA, 2014		MSME, UCLA, 2015
MS Thesis: Thermal Conductivity of Cementitious Materials Containing Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials		MS Thesis: Modeling and Physical Interpretation of Pseudocapacitors under Cyclic Voltammetry
	Felix Lee, MS		Amanda Fujii, MS
	Now at Mea Forensic, Laguna Hills, CA		Now at Pacific Gas and Electric
	BSME, UCLA, 2009		BSME, UCLA, 2012
	MSME, UCLA, 2012		MSME, UCLA, 2014
MS Thesis: Experimental and Analytical Studies on Pyroelectric Waste Heat Energy Conversion.		MS Thesis: Effect of Nanoporosity on the Thermal Conductivity of Amorphous Carbon
	Raylene Moreno, MS		David Wirth, MS
	Now at Parsons Brinckerhoff, Sacramento, CA		now 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force
	BS Environmental Engineering, UCLA, 2010		BSME, UCLA 2012
	MSME UCLA, 2011		MSME, UCLA, 2012
MS Thesis: Pyroelectric Energy Converter: Numerical Simulations vs. Experimental Results		*MS Thesis: Experimental Study on the Aerospace Applications of Photoreactive Nanomaterials*.
	Hiep Nguyen, MS		Damien Vanderpool, MS
	now at UltraCell Corporation, Livermore, CA.		Now at ATA Engineering, El Segundo, CA
	BSME, UC Berkeley, 2007		BSME, UCLA, 2006
	MSME, UCLA, 2009		MSME, UCLA, 2008
*MS Thesis*: Pyroelectric Energy Converter Using Co-Polymer P(VDF-TrFE) and Olsen Cycle for Waste Heat Energy Harvesting.		MS Thesis: Numerical and Experimental Study of a Pyroelectric Energy Converter for Harvesting Waste Heat.
	Dr. Kamal M. Katika		Matthew M. Braun, MS
	After his MSME thesis, Kamal stayed for PhD in our group.		now at the Raytheon Company
	BSME, ITT Madras, 2002		BSME Clarkson University, 2003
	MSME, UCLA, 2004		MSME UCLA, 2004
MS Thesis: Modified Method of Characteristics in Radiative Transfer		MS Thesis: Effective Optical Properties of Nanoporous Thin-Film.
	Tzu-ying Tseng, MS		Thomas Chin, MS
	Now at Touchdown Technologies, Los Angeles, CA
	BSME, National Cheng Kung University 2009		BSME, UC San Diego 2009
	MSME UCLA, 2010		MSME, UCLA 2011
	Brian James, MS Now at Southern California, Edison BS MSE, UC Irvine, 2008 MSME UCLA, 2010		Pedro Gomez, MS now at Tensility International Corp., Valencia, CA BSME, UC Berkeley, 2006 MSME, UCLA, 2010
	Herman Wong, MS Now at Black & Decker, Foothill Ranch, CA BSME, UC Berkeley, 2008 MSME, UCLA, 2010		Jennifer Blackwell, MS Now at Dexcom, Inc., San Diego, CA BSBE, UC San Diego, 2005 MSME, UCLA, 2007
	Kyle Smith, MS Now at ATA Engineering, San Diego, CA MSME, UCLA, 2006 BSME, UCLA, 2005		Howard Tseng, MS now at the Jet Propulsion Lab MSME UCLA, 2005 BSCE UC Berkeley, 2004

Former Undergraduate students

	Bin Li		Kevin Wan
	BSME, UCLA, 2016 Graduate student at UCLA		BSME, UCLA, 2015 Graduate student at Stanford
	Patarapol Chutinuntanakul		John R. Sy
	BSME, UCLA 2015		BSME, UCLA 2015 Graduate student at Columbia University
	Zachary Johnson		Gabriel Garcia
	BSME, UCLA 2012		BSME, UCLA 2012 MBA, Santa 3rd Place in the 2010 UCLA RISE-UP poster competition.
	Yi Huang		Aditya Chandramohan
	BSME, UCLA 2012 Graduate student at MIT		BSME, UCLA 2012 Graduate student at Purdue
	Joshua Kim		Broc Chavez
	BSAE, UCLA 2012		BSME, June 2012
	David Moreno		Neal Hutchinson
	BSME, UCLA 2012		BSAE, UCLA 2009 MSME, UCLA 2010
	Saurabh Pillai		Gbenga Elehinafe
	BSME, UCLA 2009 MSME, UCLA 2010		BSME, UCLA 2008
	Daniel Durbin		Anna Garahan
	BSME, UCLA 2008		BSAE, UCLA 2006
	Ding Lai		Henri Patricio
	BSME, UCLA 2006		BSME, UCLA 2006
	Natasha Barra		Richard Yau
	BSME, UCLA 2006		BSAE, UCLA 2006 MSE, Georgia Tech, 2008
	Damien Vanderpool		Vivien Leong
	BSME, UCLA 2006 MSME, UCLA 2008		BSChemE, UCLA 2005
	Soojung (Claire) Hur		Fritz Schrimerz
	BSME, UCLA 2005 MSME, UCLA 2007 PhD, UCLA 2011		BSME, UCLA 2004
	Jonathan Chang		Lisa Ridderhof
	BSME UCLA, 2004		BSME, UCLA 2004

Past Visitors

	Leonel Peña- Angeles August 2015 - May 2016		Shogo Okishio August 2015 - January 2016
	Leonel is a PhD student at Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. He is spending 14 months with us.		Shogo visited us for 6 months during his MS studies at Nagoya University, Japan.
	Hua Liu Sept. 2014 - Oct. 2015		Astrid Jamet April - August 2014
	Harbin Inst. of Technology, School of Energy Science & Eng., China Hua was a PhD student at Harbin Institute of Technology, China and visited us for one year supported by the China Scholarship Council.		ENTPE, France Astrid spent 5 months in our lab working on technologies for zero-net energy buildings. She returned to France to complete her Engineering degree.
	Bingang Mei Summer 2013		Luo Qi Summer 2012
	Bingang came for the summer from Zhejiang University through UCLA CSST. She returned to China to finish her BSME in 2014 before coming back to UCLA for her PhD.		Luo came for the summer from Xi’an Jiaotong University through UCLA CSST. He returned to China to finish his undergraduate studies. He is now a graduate student at the University of Michigan.
	Dr. Jiafei Zhao Sept. 2007 - Sept. 2008		Hugo Frederich Summer 2008
	Jiafei spent one year from Sept. 2007 to Sept. 2008 as part of his PhD studies at the State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. He is now Assistant Professor at Dalian University of Technology		Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG) Hugo did his junior internship in our lab and went on to take a PhD at Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
	Sophie Larmignat Summer 2007		Fabien Gregoris Summer 2007
	Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG) Sophie did her junior internship in our lab and received her BS in Applied Physics. She now works for Areva in Lyon, France.		Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG) Fabien did his junior internship in our lab and received his BS in Applied Physics. He now works in London, UK.
	Samuel Prim March-September 2004		Gauderic Lerouge September 2006- January 2007
	Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG) Samuel did his final year internship with us and received his BS in Applied Physics. He now works as an Engineer for Technip.		Institut Catholique d'Arts et Métiers, Toulouse - 2007 Gauderic did his final year internship with us and received his BS in Engineering from Toulouse, France.
	James Washington UC LEAD Summer 2003		Helene Ruckenbusch Summer 2003
	BSME 2004 UC Santa Barbara Now a graduate student at Northwestern University.		Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG) Helene did her junior internship in our lab and received his BS in Applied Physics. She now works for Renault in France.