Updates No.1 Dec 5th - Dec 25th

Here is my recent updates for the past 2-3 weeks.

•  I glad I did finished the graduate school applications before 2014.

• In the long term I would love to understand the microscale transport, and both liquid and solid transport are vital. Due to my department and lab's origin, the focus mainly spin around heat and mass transport. 
  

• Fluid: For me, I had some preparation basing on my undergraduate study. Recently, my interest mainly falls on interfacail phenomena of nanostrucutures. I had read about the papers on following topics:
  

1. Intermolecular forces, which is about the contact angle properties is one factor which comes into heat transfer researcher's view recently due to the emergency of hydrophobic surfaces. I read about the adhesion force of nanostructured surface and droplets with different properties by group in Alberta. It might offer insights on droplet and superhydrophobic surface separation.
2. But for the heat transfer, fluid transport is also important in addition to the intermolecular forces, as Prof. Ronggui Yang's recent discoveries indicated. He found only the combination study of  fluid replenish and intermolecular forces could account for the influence of nanostructure on phase change. He is trying to study droplet spreading on nanostructured surfaces to combine both of two factors. His preliminary work indicates that there are monotonic relationship between the spreading spead and heat flux.
3. A design approach for sustaining vapor phase for a immersed superhydrophobic surface has been reported by Prof. Patankar in Northwestern. This work brings the contact angle research into the more realistic heat transfer application.
4. CNT has hydrophobic properties that transport liquid through its body without frictions, which is studied some time ago by Berkeley. Researchers has demonstrated the  application on water purification and medical injector now. Is
5. Problem A: The importance of active wetting in cooling system. I am not aware of where could the necessity of active on-spot cooling will beat the extra cost it brings.
6. Problem B: The cooling challenge of wearable and flexible electronics devices. The fluid transport as well as interface material are two challenges in my view.

• Solid: I am aware of my lack in higher-level physics. Therefore, my first priority work would be knowledge replenishment.
  

1. I  joined the online course of Thermal Energy at the Nanoscale provided by Prof. Fisher in Purdue. It offered the most important concepts within short 5 weeks.
2. I find using LAMMPS and Material Studio to simulate conduction is not hard, but a higher mastery of statistic mechanics is necessary, and I selected a course next term. 
3. One of my goal is to achieve the device-level demonstration of the cooling for nanoscale hot spot with the integration of both the carbon nano materials and nanoscale fluid transport. There are emerging novel phenomena on nanoscale thermal properties.  But  I do not have a clear roadmap yet. 

• With the discussion of my mentor, my senior project is determined as Silicon-CNT hybrid anodes for Lithium-ion Batteries. It mainly originates from our group's transition to nano scale transport and energy conversion. I expect research training on nano fabrication as well as ion diffusion and system analysis.