Education

• Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992
• M.S., University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 1985
• B.S., University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 1982

Background

Dr. Zhang seeks to advance basic science involving heat transfer and thermodynamics and apply the result to cutting-edge technological problems. After spending three years as a guest scientist in the Optical Technology Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), he started an academic career in 1995 at the University of Florida, where he established a strong research program in thermal radiation and microscale heat transfer, including the development of a Microscale Thermal Radiation (MicroRAD) Laboratory for research and teaching and the creation of several new courses in microscale thermal science and advanced measurement technology. He began at Tech in Fall 2002 as an Associate Professor.

Research

• Heat Transfer, Combustion and Energy Systems and Micro and Nano Engineering: Nano/microscale heat transfer, thermophysical properties, and radiation thermometry

Dr. Zhang works closely with his graduate students and collaborates extensively with physicists and materials research scientists to conduct research in heat transfer and thermophysical engineering, including measurements of the radiative properties and optical response. The result is a broad spectrum of research activities and accomplishments in heat transfer and thermophysical engineering, including measurements of the radiative properties and optical response of high-temperature superconducting thin-film materials and devices; thermal modeling of absolute cryogenic radiometers, space-based solar radiometers, and pulsed-laser calorimeters; radiation temperature measurement for rapid thermal processing (RTP) and heat transfer modeling of RTP systems; and investigation of the bidirectional reflectance of rough silicon wafers. The research has applications in microscale and nanoscale science and technology, such as a better understanding of the electronic interactions in superconducting and semiconductor materials, developing far-infrared optoelectronic devices based on high-temperature superconducting films on silicon substrates, improving the accuracy in optical power and laser energy measurements, and improving the temperature measurement techniques for the fabrication of integrated circuits. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and private companies.

Nanotechnology is becoming a strategic branch of science and engineering for the 21st century. It holds promise to fundamentally restructure the technologies currently used in manufacturing, medicine, energy production, communication, defense, and education. Understanding the energy transport mechanisms in small dimensions and short time scale is crucial for the future advance of nanoscale science and engineering. Dr. Zhang is developing an active research program in nanoscale thermophysical engineering, which will include measurements and modeling of the thermophysical properties of materials at micro and nanoscales, investigation of the electron and phonon transport in small structures, and the application of scanning optical and scanning thermal microscopy to micro and nanodevices.