Energy Systems & Materials

Duke MEMS faculty are experts in developing new energy materials, improving energy-related technologies and exploring underlying chemistry and physics. The vision: a future with clean and abundant energy. They are deeply engaged in developing new sources of energy and improving the design of systems for energy conversion, storage and transport. New energy materials and approaches include photovoltaics, solar fuels, thermoelectrics, supercapacitors/batteries, efficient lighting and thermofluids. Practical applications are built upon discoveries in mechanics, thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, materials science, applied chemistry and physics.

Research Areas

Batteries and energy storage
Computational materials discovery and design
Constructal law of design
Efficient lighting
Energy materials
Hydrodynamics
Solar energy
Thermal transport and thermoelectrics
Thermofluids for energy
Thermodynamics

Major Centers & Initiatives

Externally funded research centers and laboratory groups working in this topic area include:

Related Study Opportunities

PhD

Specializations include:

Master of Science (MS) or Master of Engineering (MEng)

Concentrations include:

Energy, Propulsion, and Structures for Earth and Space

Further Options at Duke

Duke University Program in Materials Science and Engineering

The program offers a general materials science and engineering (MSE) curriculum and degree title. Learn more »

Highlights

More MEMS research news

graphic of radiative cooling mode vs solar heating mode

Smart Material Switches Between Heating and Cooling in Minutes

Deployed on roofs or facades, passive technology could greatly reduce HVAC energy consumption in buildings

Buzz About Thermoelectrics Heats Up With Promising New Magnesium-Based Materials

Researchers have gained new fundamental insights into two magnesium-based materials that have the potential to significantly outperform traditional thermoelectric designs

an aerial photo of a field of many rows of solar energy arrays

Addressing Climate Change with Energy Materials

Duke engineers and materials scientists are discovering and designing new materials to meet energy demands for a more sustainable future

Associated Faculty

Wilkins Aquino

Anderson-Rupp Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Computational mechanics, finite element methods, computational inverse problems and their applications in engineering and biomedicine, scientific computing, computational acoustics and acoustics-structure interaction, coupled chemo-mechanics (e.g., electrochemistry-mechanics).

Adrian Bejan

J.A. Jones Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Research Interests: Thermodynamics, applied physics, life & evolution in nature, constructal law.

Donald B. Bliss

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, acoustics, and structural dynamics

Volker Blum

Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Computational predictions and understanding of new materials related to energy and electronics, as well as molecular structure and spectroscopies, based on the "first principles" of quantum mechanics. Much of this work is directly connected to ongoing developments of new...

Chuan-Hua Chen

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

Research Interests: Experimental and theoretical research coupling physicochemical hydrodynamics with interfacial engineering

Stefano Curtarolo

Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence Materials Science; Autonomous Materials Design; Computational materials science; High-Entropy Disordered Systems; Materials for Energy Applications; Materials for Aerospace Applications. Prof. Curtarolo multidisciplinary research makes use of state-of-the...

George Delagrammatikas

Professor of the Practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Engineering Education, Automotive Engineering, Design Optimization, Thermal Fluid Sciences, Experimental Methods, Prototyping

Olivier Delaire

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Olivier Delaire investigates atomic dynamics in materials, focusing on problems at the interface of Materials Science, Physics and Chemistry. His research group utilizes a range of experimental and computational approaches, including neutron and x-ray scattering techniques,...

Linda Franzoni

Professor of the Practice in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Acoustics of enclosures, underwater acoustics, structural dynamics and vibration.

Nico Hotz

Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

Research Interests: Interfacial transport phenomena and thermodynamics in energy technology, including phenomena at the micro- and nanoscale. Thermodynamics aspects of photovoltaics, novel sustainable energy conversion technologies, and chemical reactions are an essential part of my research. My...

Laurens E. Howle

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Hydroelastic modeling of deformable structures, transport in thermal and chemical systems, experimental and computational fluid dynamics, nonlinear and complex systems, heat and mass transport in biological systems, stability of fluid motions, machine learning, data mining,...

Tony Jun Huang

William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Acoustofluidics, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, biomedical micro-electro-mechanical systems (BioMEMS), optofluidics, plasmofluidics.

Josiah D. Knight

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and dynamics

Brian Mann

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Nonlinear dynamics and vibration utilizing analytical, numerical, and experimental techniques. Fundamental investigations of phenomenon and application areas where dynamical systems theory plays an important role.

David Mitzi

Simon Family Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Making emerging photovoltaic materials more effective, cost-efficient and competitive for the energy market.

Walter Neal Simmons

Gendell Family Professor of the Practice

Rebecca Simmons

Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Pei Zhong

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Mechanistic investigation and technology development in shock wave and laser lithotripsy; Ultrasound-elicited mechanotransduction, neuromodulation and sonogenetics; HIFU and immunotherapy for cancer treatment; Acoustic and optical cavitation.

Jeffrey Glass

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests: Electronic materials and the associated devices/instruments improved by these materials, especially electrode applications in miniature mass spectrometry, energy conversion and storage and liquid waste disinfection for developing regions. Electrochemical measurements and...

Sara Haravifard

William M. Fairbank Assistant Professor of Physics

Research Interests: Exploring novel collective phenomena in quantum materials by means of neutron and x-ray scattering techniques; Investigating quantum critical phenomena at extreme environmental conditions of ultra-low temperature, high magnetic field, and high pressure; Materials by Design:...

Tomasz Hueckel

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research Interests: Mechanics of materials, theoretical soil mechanics, rock mechanics, theory of plasticity, multi-physics processes in geomechanics, nuclear waste disposal, energy and environmental geomechanics.

Benjamin J. Wiley

Professor of Chemistry

Research Interests: In the Wiley Group, we make new nanomaterials by controlling the assembly of atoms in solution, and explore applications for nanomaterials in medicine, catalysis, plasmonics, and electronics. Our goal is to precisely control the size, shape, and composition of materials on the...

Po-Chun Hsu

Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Smart multifunctional textiles, camouflage fabrics, stimuli-responsive polymer, wearable electronics, photon management, radiation heat transfer, solar desalination and water harvesting, electrochemical devices, electrospinning and fiber fabrication

F. Hadley Cocks

Professor Emeritus in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: A wide variety of areas in materials science, including crystal growth, mechanical properties of kidney stones, lunar science, diffraction optics, materials for radiation detection, and radiation shielding.

Edward J. Shaughnessy

Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Analytical, experimental, and computational studies of flow problems arising in biology, medicine, and biotechnology as well as in more traditional mechanical engineering applications.