Thermal Systems & Heat Management

David’s research group conducts experimental and theoretical studies of energy transport/conversion mechanisms and material properties across multiple length scales and temperature ranges. The primary motivation is the thermal management of hypersonic vehicles, electronic devices, and other engineering systems.

Professor Chelliah is currently serving as the Program Director for Combustion and Fire Systems in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems at the National Science Foundation (NSF). His research interests are vast and include fundamental investigations on interaction of finite-rate kinetics with transport.

Dedic received her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Iowa State University in 2012 and 2017, respectively. After graduation she worked as a visiting scientist with the National Institute of Aerospace at NASA Langley Research Center and joined the University of Virginia as an assistant professor in 2018. Dedic is an active member of the AIAA.

Patrick E. Hopkins is a Whitney Stone Professor in Engineering at the University of Virginia, with a primary appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and courtesy appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Physics. He is also the director of the ExSiTE Lab.

4D Diagnostics & Thermal-Fluids​
Development of novel diagnostics with 4D spatiotemporal resolution to study combustion, propulsion and fluid dynamics

Our research focuses on materials for use in extreme environments and can be applied to materials for use in aircraft engines, rocket engines, energy conversion technologies, and thermal protection systems.

Dr. Ward received a B.S. (1998) in Chemical Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology with a minor in Applied Mathematics, M.S. (2001) in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and Ph.D. (2003) in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara.