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:
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 »
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
F. Hadley Cocks
Professor with Tenure in the 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.
Stefano Curtarolo
Professor in the Department 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
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,...
Po-Chun Hsu
Assistant Professor 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
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.
Rebecca Simmons
Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Walter Neal Simmons
Gendell Family Professor of the Practice
Pei Zhong
Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
Research Interests: Ultrasound-targeted gene delivery and activation; Synergistic combination of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and immunotherapy for cancer treatment; Innovations in shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) technology; and Mechanics and bioeffects of acoustic 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...
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.