September 23, 2024

Srinivas Garimella, Hightower Chair in Engineering and professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, received the prestigious Georg Alefeld Memorial Award at the 17^th International Sorption Heat Pump Conference (ISHPC 2024), held in Beijing, China earlier this month. This award is the highest recognition in the sorption heat pump research community and acknowledges Garimella's outstanding and lifelong achievements in the field of sorption chillers, sorption heat pumps, and the elucidation of internal phase-change heat and mass transfer processes at the mini- and micro-scales to develop innovative sorption systems.

"This award is the one in my long career that is the most meaningful for me, because it comes from the very specific research community that is very familiar with the subject and with my contributions to it over the past four decades," said Garimella.

Garimella has been constant presence in the sorption heat pump arena for over four decades. His work has led to insights on working pairs, novel sorption cycles, fundamental physics of heat and mass transfer, and innovative components and systems. His contributions to the understanding of falling film hydrodynamics and coupled heat and mass transfer, and his computations and videos of absorption in falling films have long been adopted as teaching material for students and practitioners in this field.

The fundamental and component level understanding that Garimella and his lab group in the Sustainable Thermal Systems Laboratory have established has facilitated the development of numerous innovative cycles and applications in sorption technology. In the field of absorption, he developed waste heat-driven absorption cooling systems, a packaged absorption heat pump water heater, a completely passive diffusion-absorption heat pump for the transport of medicines and vaccines, and a cycle for simultaneous space-conditioning and gray water purification. Of particular note is the book-sized absorption heat pump he invented that delivered 300 W of cooling over a wide range of ambient temperatures. This accomplishment convincingly demonstrated opportunities for miniaturization, addressing one of the major challenges of sorption technology and inspiring researchers around the globe to develop compact sorption systems. In the field of adsorption, Garimella's innovations include a biomass-driven chiller for off-grid cold chain storage, a sorption-based thermal storage system for textile dryers (that reduces energy consumption and drying time by ∼20%) and building space-conditioning, and sorbent-loaded hollow-fiber adsorption systems for carbon capture based on thermal wave heat pumps.

Garimella has published over 125 highly regarded journal papers and numerous other conference proceedings papers on sorption technology, making him one of the most highly published and experienced experts in the field. His publications in the International Journal of Refrigeration each year are on the short list to receive a Best Paper Award and have succeeded several times. He co-authored with his students the book Adsorption Heat Pumps: Fundamentals and Applications (2021, Springer), which has quickly become the “bible” for graduate courses on advanced sorption thermodynamics. It illustrates modeling techniques for quickly screening new working materials early in their development, provides a comprehensive review of cycle types, with discussion of the applications for which they are best suited, and is appropriate for graduate courses on advanced thermodynamics, design of thermal systems, sustainable energy technology, refrigeration technologies, and thermal management. As a conference speaker, Garimella easily attracts attention with his humorous and lively way of presentation, and by the clear outline and conclusive structure of his talks. His research has also resulted in 17 patents in various jurisdictions, all on sorption technology.

One of Garimella’s major contributions to the future of sorption is the large number of students he has supervised. He has mentored over 75 Ph.D. and M.S. students and postdoctoral associates from across the world. Of the 36 Ph.D. students who have graduated under his supervision, 18 have published theses on sorption technology, as well as 15 of his M.S. students.

Through his research, publications and teaching, Garimella has promoted not only sorption technology, but the advancement of sustainable energy systems worldwide. He was nominated for this award by leading experts in the sorption research community, a testament to his lasting influence in the field.

"With Srinivas' exemplary record of scientific achievements in the field of sorption, his international reputation as a renowned sorption systems researcher, and his broad influence in the field of sorption heat pump technology, we are proud to see him receive this prestigious award," said Devesh Ranjan, Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair and professor.

About the Georg Alefeld Memorial Award

The Georg Alefeld Memorial Award was established to honor and commemorate Professor Georg Alefeld (1933-1995), a researcher, educator, and author who made outstanding contributions to the field of absorption heat pumping technologies. The award is bestowed at every International Sorption Heat Pump Conference (at about a three-year interval) to an individual for outstanding scientific or engineering contributions and eminent achievements in the field of sorption heat pumping technology. These contributions should yield a deeper insight into the underlying physical phenomena or should yield significant technological advances. In addition to research, the award recipient should have made outstanding contributions to the field through teaching, design, or a combination of such activities. Previous winners of this award include Professor Gershon Grossman, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology; Professor Takao Kashiwagi, Tokyo Institute of Technology; Professor Ruzhu Wang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; and Professor Felix Ziegler, Technical University of Berlin.