People

Abenezer Abere is PhD Student at Washington University in St. Louis pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Material Science. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Addis Ababa University in Mechanical Engineering. Some of his research experience encompasses modelling of thermo-fluid systems and performance evaluation of Solar Energy application for off grid areas.

His research interest leans towards finding solution for thermal management of electronics and microdevices. Currently, his study involves simulation and experiment to investigate the influence of heat transfer on flow dynamics in porous medium and understand the transport phenomena at pore scale level. During his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, riding a bike, and travelling.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abenezer-abere-59575685/

Kiersten is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering, working on developing a passive heat switch for space-craft and satellite applications. She obtained her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering here at Washington University and worked in the Thermal Fluids Research Group both as a WUSEF summer intern and an independent study research student.

Minrak (pronunciation: Millak) is a PhD student at the MEMS department in Washington University in St. Loius. He obtained his B.S. from Hanyang University and obtained his M.S. at POSTECH. He has a total of six years of research experience before coming to WashU, including aerosol science, two-phase flow and microfluidics. His research at WashU is focused on thermal modeling of the Metal Additive Manufacturing (MAM) process where he ultimately tries to correlate the in-situ thermal data with the quality of the AM-printed products. He is trying to learn Machine Learning (ML) for correlation data and obtaining temperature distribution. He is a foodie, likes to sing in his spare time and loves to engage in friendly conversations.

Ruikang Zhang is a MS student in Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He obtained his BS in Aeronautical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has been working as a Heat&Fluid Simulating and Modeling Engineer Intern in China, participating in several projects including simulating China’s latest small modular nuclear reactor’s coolant system. He is now working in the Thermal Fluid Research Group doing his independent study on the heat behavior of condensation of hot vapor. During his free time, he likes to play table tennis, and he was the former captain of RPI’s table tennis team.

Aisha is a first-year dual degree student. She recently completed her Physics degree at Gettysburg College and is about to begin her studies in Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. As a WUSEF summer intern, she is working on condensation experiments with various fluid mixtures.

Nicholas Gunter is a rising senior in mechanical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. His primary interests are thermodynamics and robotics. He assists the lab as an NSF REU Thermal Management Intern, working on a project to characterize the surface tension of different fluid mixtures to encourage Marangoni condensation.

Matthew is a recent graduate of WashU, where he received his BS in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science with a minor in Applied Microeconomics. He will be continuing his studies at the university next fall in pursuit of his MS in Mechanical Engineering. His current project involves investigating the feasibility of laser-based additive manufacturing with high-temperature polymer composites. Outside of the lab, Matthew loves to make music, sail, and enjoy St. Louis’ awesome food and sports scenes.

Junhui received his PhD from WashU as member of the Thermal Fluids Research Group in 2022. The title of his thesis was: “Droplet-based Two-phase Thermal Management”. He also worked on developing a passive heat switch based on liquid metal actuation. He is now a thermal engineer at NIO.

He also holds a B.E. in Aircraft Design and Engineering from the Beihang University (China) (2014), and a M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis (2016).

Jianxing received his PhD from WashU as member of the Thermal Fluids Research Group in 2022. The title of his thesis was: “Droplet Dynamics and Heat Transfer during Condensation on Lubricant-Infused Surfaces”. He is now a postdoc in the lab of Anish Tuteja at the University of Michigan.

He also holds a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from the Inner Mongolia University of Technology (China) (2014), and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Dalian University of Technology (China) (2017).