Prof. Yi Zheng

(CV)

Prof. Yi Zheng is a tenured Associate Professor with expertise in sustainable energy and clean technology in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the College of Engineering, the Director of Nano Energy Laboratory, and a Faculty Fellow of Center for Emerging Markets at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University (Boston, MA), an elected Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Founder and President of Planck Energies. He joined Northeastern University in July 2019, Prior to Northeastern, he was a tenure-track Assistant Professor and Associate Professor with early promotion and tenure at the University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI) between 2014 and 2019. Prof. Zheng received his Ph.D. and M.S. from Columbia University (New York, NY) in 2015 and 2011, respectively, and B.S. from Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) in 2009. Prof. Zheng has published over 90 peer-reviewed journal papers, filed 9 patents, and secured research grants over $4.4M from diverse sources including NSF, NIH, NASA, DARPA, ONR and US Air Force. His current research aims to address climate change and the growing global challenges in energy and water scarcity. Prof. Zheng’s achievements are reflected in some prestigious honors and awards including NSF CAREER Award, NIH RI-INBRE Early Career Development Award, NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship, ASTFE Early Career Researcher Award, Soleeva Energy Innovation Award, MassVentures Acorn Innovation Award, Constantinos Mavroidis Translational Research Award, NSF Spirit of I-Corps Award, NECAA Year of the Scientist, US President’s Volunteer Service Award, APAPA Outstanding Civic Engagement Award, and Massachusetts AAPI Commission Leadership for Inclusion and Diversity Award.

Xuguang Zhang

Xuguang is currently pursuing a PhD at Northeastern University, with a strong research focus on battery cooling, passive cooling, phase change materials, and desalination. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton and a master’s degree from Northeastern University. Outside of my academic pursuits, he enjoys working out, bike riding, and spending time with his dog. 

Andrew Caratenuto

Andrew has studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and Northeastern University for his Bachelor’s and Doctoral degrees, respectively, and has worked as a Design Engineer at ASML. His expertise is focused on thermal science, sustainability, and materials design for renewable energy applications.

Hexiang Zhang

Hexiang Zhang is a PhD student studying in Nano Energy Laboratory at Northeastern University. He holds double B.S. degrees from Florida Institute of Technology and an M.S. degree from New York University. Meanwhile, he served as a technical leader for an NYU VIP project from Sept. 2023 to May 2024. His research currently focuses on nonreciprocal thermal radiation, inhomogeneous material, and radiative cooling. In his spare time, he likes playing badminton.

Hengling Zhu

Hengling Zhu graduated from Northern Arizona University, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He is currently a master student at Northeastern University, with research focus on passive cooling, battery cooling, and phase change materials. Beyond academics, he really enjoys hiking and working out. 

Dr. Alok Ghanekar

Alok was a PhD student with Prof. Zheng at the University of Rhode Island (2014-2018). He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. His doctoral work involved the investigation of nanocomposites and nanostructures for thermophotovoltaic energy conversion and thermal rectification devices. After his postdoctoral training at the University of Southern California, Dr. Ghanekar is now an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His research is focused on nanophotonic metamaterials for controlling thermal radiation and thermal regulation. 

Dr. Yanpei Tian

Yanpei was a PhD student in Prof. Zheng’s lab at the University of Rhode Island (2017-2019) and Northeastern University (2017-2021). He graduated from Harbin Engineering University with Bachler degree. During his work in Dr. Zheng’s lab, he focused on passive thermal regulation, selective solar harvesting, and interfacial water evaporation.  After his postdoctoral training at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, he moved to Purdue University for another postdoctoral work. His current research is focused on living metamaterials.

Dr. Xiaojie Liu

Xiaojie Liu completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Northeastern University in 2022. Her doctoral work mainly includes experimental and theoretical investigations of thermal transport in solar-driven interfacial evaporation and passive radiative cooling. Now, Xiaojie is a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University, focusing on tunable cooling paint and biomass-based materials with AWH and radiative cooling applications.

Dr. Fangqi Chen

Fangqi earned his bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from Fudan University. He then received his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University. His research interests include light manipulation, nanoscale energy transport and thermal regulation. In his leisure time, he enjoys listening to music and watching sports games.

Dr. Yang Liu

Yang Liu is a postdoctoral researcher at University of Notre Dame. He received his M.S. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, and then received his Ph.D. degree from Northeastern University, in 2024. His research interest includes far-field and near-field radiative heat transfer, and functional photonic metamaterials for non-contact-mode thermal diodes and thermal transistors, self-adaptive radiative cooling, thermophotovoltaic energy harvesting and conversion. He likes hiking, fishing and basketball in his spare time.

Lijia Xie

PhD candidate in Materials Engineering, Purdue University (2022-now)

Lijia earned her bachelor’s degree in Electronic Science and Technology from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). She then received her master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University. Her research interests include microstructure evolution, thermodynamic and thermo-mechanical properties of solder alloys in advance packaging. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading, playing video games, hiking, and hanging out with friends.

Leqing Xu

PhD student in University of Nottingham, UK

Introduction: Leqing Xu is currently a PhD student in University of Nottingham, before that he received master of science degree in Energy Systems at Northeastern University and master of science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University. His current research interest is short term solar forecasts based on machine learning and deep learning approaches. His hobbies are basketball, skiing and traveling.

Jiangshan Gao

Position：Mechanical Engineer (Huawei）

Introduction：He graduated from Northeastern University in the United States and obtained a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He has been involved in research on biomimetic robots and nanomaterials and his current area of research is semiconductor manufacturing equipment. His interests include fitness and cooking.

Su Li

Su is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University. Before joining Stony Brook, She earned a master’s degree from Northeastern University. Her research focuses on advancing the application of thermal sensors and haptic technologies. Outside the lab, she enjoys watching movies and traveling.

Jiansheng Li

Position: Sungrow Strategic Key Account Application Engineer, responsible for North American Region Battery energy storage system Pre sales consulting

Jiansheng worked at the Nano Energy Lab from 2020.6-2020.12, during which he participated in various experimental research projects. He is currently employed at Sungrow, where he is responsible for the preliminary design and construction of several battery energy storage stations in North America. His work continuously contributes to the advancement of renewable energy and carbon neutrality in the region. In his personal life, Jiansheng Li enjoys long-distance running and reading, and he has participated in numerous marathon races.

Youya Wang

Youya Wang is a high school scientist from Washington preparatory school. She conducting research on PMMA Film in Passive Cooling under the guidance of Professor Zheng and Xuguang Zhang at the Nano Energy Laboratory. Since high school, she has had a strong passion for physics and mathematics. Beyond academics, she also enjoys painting.

Davis Wang

Davis Wang is a high school scientist from Washington Preparatory School. He has a keen interest in natural sciences and computer science. He participated in a passive cooling research project under the guidance of Professor Zheng and Xuguang Zhang, where he demonstrated his passion and rigor in scientific research. Additionally, he created this laboratory’s website. He is committed to pursuing a career related to natural science and computer science in the future. In his free time, Davis enjoys playing basketball.