The Hawkins Memorial Lecture
Applications of AI and Machine Learning in Research and Development of Energy Conversion and Heat Transfer Technologies
Van P. Carey, A. Richard Newton Chair in Engineering Distinguished Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California at Berkeley
Thursday, September 19, 2024
2:30 p.m. • Burton Morgan (MRGN) room 121
Abstract: This lecture will provide an overview of features and application strategies of AI and machine learning that can enhance research and development of energy conversion and heat transfer technologies. The discussion will describe the spectrum of energy and heat transfer research topics and applications in which these tools have been used in innovative ways. The broad effects of AI and machine learning on energy and heat transfer technology research will be discussed, including how they are driving evolutionary technology changes, and how they are changing the nature of engineering professional practice. The lecture will also describe more deeply some of the speaker’s work on use of machine learning tools to enhance heat transfer and energy conversion research. These will include use of genetic algorithms to enhance research on boiling heat transfer in aqueous mixtures under reduced gravity, and predicting performance of thermionic energy conversion, and use of neural network models for predicting flame speed for burning of the insulation layer covering wires in electrical systems, and creation of adaptive thermal energy storage designs. Use of a specialized convolution neural network for analysis of combined digital data and images from boiling experiments will also be presented.
Biography: Prof. Van P. Carey, a Distinguished Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department, holds the A. Richard Newton Chair in Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. Carey’s research has included fundamental studies in the areas of micro- and nanoscale thermophysics, interfacial phenomena, and transport in liquid-vapor phase-change processes. His research interests also include development of new methods for computational modeling and simulation of energy conversion and transport processes in applications such as industrial waste heat recovery, building and vehicle air conditioning, high heat flux cooling of electronics, energy efficiency of information processing systems, and microgravity boiling in spacecraft thermal management. His recent research has focused on the physics of water vaporization processes on surfaces with nanoporous coatings, adaptive thermal energy storage, and use of machine learning tools in phase change heat transfer research. Carey is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he is a former Chair of the Heat Transfer Division of ASME. Carey has received the ASME James Harry Potter Gold Medal in 2004 for eminent achievement in thermodynamics, and the Heat Transfer Memorial Award in the Science category (2007) from ASME. Carey is also a three-time recipient of the Hewlett Packard Research Innovation Award for his research on electronics thermal management and energy efficiency (2008, 2009, and 2010), and Carey received the 2014 Thermophysics Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
History of the Hawkins Lecture
This annual lecture series was established in 1984 to honor the memory of George A. Hawkins, former Dean of the Schools of Engineering. Renowned for his many contributions as a teacher, researcher, and administrator, he retained a strong commitment to heat transfer and was instrumental in establishing Purdue’s eminence in the field. The lecture provides an opportunity for a leader in heat transfer research to present topics of broad interest to the University community. This series is supported by an endowment created with gifts from the Heat Transfer Area faculty at Purdue.
George A. Hawkins was born in Denver, Colorado in 1907. He attended the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Denver before coming to Purdue where he received three degrees. Dr. Hawkins earned his Ph.D. in 1935 and began an academic career that spanned 41 years. Promoted to Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 1942, he was Dean of the Schools of Engineering from 1953 to 1967 and Vice President of Academic Affairs from 1967 until his retirement in 1971. In addition to his administrative duties, he continued with technical pursuits, writing several textbooks and more than 150 papers and articles dealing with heat transfer, thermodynamics, and other engineering areas.
For his technical, professional, and administrative contributions, he received many honors, including election as member of the National Academy of Engineering, Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and Honorary Member of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). He received the ASME/Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal in 1940. As dean, he was instrumental in effecting major changes in engineering education throughout the U.S., and was awarded the ASEE Medal for Distinguished and Meritorious Service in 1968. He was named National President of ASEE in 1970.
One of his strongest professional commitments was to the subject of heat transfer, and he had an important influence on establishing Purdue as a world leader in this area. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was, with William McAdams on the East Coast, M. Jakob in the Midwest, and L.M.K. Boelter on the West Coast, a major force in promoting the transition of heat transfer from an engineering art to a modern form of engineering strongly based on scientific fundamentals. His early work as a pioneer of heat transfer is well-documented. His program flourished, producing many outstanding graduate students who have enjoyed successful careers in industry, academia, and government.
Following his retirement in 1971, Dr. Hawkins continued to be active until his death in 1978.
Past Speakers
2023 Chao-Yang Wang, Pennsylvania State University
2022 Samuel Graham, University of Maryland
2021 John Bischof, University of Minnesota
2021 Cristina Amon, University of Toronto
2019 Cynthia Hipwell, Texas A&M University
2018 Costas P. Grigoropoulos, University of California Berkeley
2017 Mehmet Toner, Harvard Medical School (photo)
2016 Suhas V. Patankar, University of Minnesota
2015 Kenneth E. Goodson, Stanford University
2014 Jean-Jacques Greffet, Institute Optique Palaiseau-France
2013 Jayathi Murthy, Purdue University
2012 Gang Chen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2011 Chung K. Law, Princeton University
2010 Arun Majumdar, U.S. Department of Energy
2009 Mamoru Ishii, School of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University
2008 Paul Hommert, California Laboratories and Homeland Security & Defense Strategic Management Unit, Sandia National Laboratories
2007 Richard O. Buckius, National Science Foundation and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2006 Yogesh Jaluria, Rutgers University
2005 Massoud Kaviany, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
2004 Dimos Poulikakos, ETH Zurich
2003 John H. Sununu, JHS Associates, Ltd.
2002 Kenneth R. Diller, University of Texas - Austin
2001 Martin C. Jischke, Purdue University
2000 Robert G. Watts, Tulane University
1999 Vijay K. Dhir, University of California - Los Angeles
1998 David P. DeWitt, Purdue University
1997 Boris Rubinsky, University of California - Berkeley
1996 Frank P. Incropera, Purdue University
1995 John R. Howell, University of Texas - Austin
1994 Julian Szekely, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1993 Robert Siegel, NASA Lewis Research Center
1992 Richard C. Chu, International Business Machines Corporation
1991 R. J. Goldstein, University of Minnesota
1990 Raymond Viskanta, Purdue University
1989 Franz Mayinger, Technische Universität München
1988 Wataru Nakayama, Hitachi, Ltd.
1987 Chang-Lin Tien, University of California - Berkeley
1986 Arthur E. Bergles, Iowa State University
1985 E. M. Sparrow, University of Minnesota
1984 Ernst R. G. Eckert, University of Minnesota
