Yuwen Zhang

Yuwen Zhang
张玉文
Born1964 (age 61–62)
Xiaoyi, Shanxi, China
Citizenship United States
Alma materXi'an Jiaotong University (B.E. 1985, M.E. 1988, D.Eng. 1991)
University of Connecticut (Ph.D. 1998)
Known forPhase change heat transfer
AwardsASTFE Fellow (2024)
Huber and Helen Croft Chair in Engineering (2021)
Curators' Distinguished Professor (2020)
AAAS Fellow (2015)
ASME Fellow (2007)
ONR Young Investigator Award (2002)
Scientific career
FieldsMechanical Engineering
InstitutionsXi'an Jiaotong University
Wright State University
University of Connecticut
New Mexico State University
University of Missouri
The native form of this personal name is Zhang Yuwen. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Yuwen Zhang is a Chinese-American professor of mechanical engineering who is well known for his contributions to phase change heat transfer. He is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where he served as a Department Chair from 2013 to 2017. He was named a James C. Dowell Professor in 2012, a Curators' Distinguished Professor in 2020 [1], and a Huber and Helen Croft Chair in Engineering in 2021.

Education and Career

Yuwen Zhang was born in 1964 in Xiaoyi, Shanxi, China and spent his early life there until 1981, when he was entered university. He earned his B.E. degree in turbomachinery engineering, M.E. and D.Eng. degrees in engineering thermophysics from Xi'an Jiaotong University, in 1985, 1988 and 1991, respectively. In 1998, he received a Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut.

Zhang began his academic career teaching at Xi'an Jiaotong University (1991-1994) before serving as a research associate at Wright State University (1994–1995) and the University of Connecticut (1995–1996). Following his doctoral studies, he worked as a research scientist at University of Connecticut (1999-2000) and entered the private sector as a senior engineer at Thermoflow, Inc. in 2000. He returned to academia in 2001 as an assistant professor at New Mexico State University. In 2003, he joined the University of Missouri (MU) as an associate professor, rising to the rank of full professor in 2009. He served as the Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from 2013 to 2017.

Technical contributions

Yuwen Zhang's research area is in the field of heat and mass transfer with applications in nanomanufacturing, thermal management, and energy storage and conversion. He has published over 500 technical publications, include more than 300 journal papers.

He has developed pioneering models for a latent heat thermal energy storage system,[2] as well as multiscale, multiphysics models on additive manufacturing (AM), including selective laser sintering (SLS) [3] and laser chemical vapor deposition/infiltration (LCVD/LCVI).[4][5] He has pioneered fundamental models of fluid flow and heat transfer in the oscillating heat pipes,[6][7] a heat transfer device that can be used in thermal management of electronic devices and energy systems. He carried out theoretical studies on femtosecond laser interaction with metal and biological materials from molecular scales to system levels,[8][9] and solved inverse heat transfer problems for the determination of the heating condition and/or temperature-dependent macro and micro thermophysical properties under uncertainty.[10] He also investigated the mechanism of heat transfer enhancement in nanofluids, which are stable colloidal suspensions of solid nanomaterials with sizes typically on the order of 1-100 nm in the base fluid, via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.[11]

Thermal management and temperature uniformity improvement of Li-ion batteries using external and internal cooling methods were also systematically studied by utilizing pin fin heat sinks and metal/non-metal foams, as well as using electrolyte flow inside the embedded microchannels in the porous electrodes as a novel internal cooling technique.[12][13] Moreover, he has pioneered application of AI and machine learning for efficient and accurate solution of multiphase heat and mass transfer [14] and inverse heat conduction problems. [15]

Honors and awards

  • Top 2% of World Scientists, 2025[16]
  • Highly Ranked Scholar, ScholarGPS, 2024[17]
  • Fellow, American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE), 2024[18]
  • Huber and Helen Croft Chair in Engineering, University of Missouri, 2021
  • Curators' Distinguished Professor, University of Missouri, 2020
  • Coulter Award, University of Missouri Coulter Translational Partnership Program, 2018[19]
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2015[20]
  • James C. Dowell Professorship, University of Missouri, 2012
  • Certificate of Appreciation for Service as K-15 Committee Chair, ASME Heat Transfer Division, 2014
  • Certificate of Distinguished Service, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 2011
  • Missouri Honor Senior Faculty Research Award, College of Engineering at the University of Missouri, 2010
  • Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity, University of Missouri, 2010[21]
  • Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2007[22]
  • Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), 2008[23]
  • Faculty Fellow Award, College of Engineering at University of Missouri, 2007
  • Computational Research Award, Department of Mechanical Engineering, New Mexico State University, 2003
  • Young Investigator Award, Office of Naval Research (one of 26 awarded nationally in all fields), 2002[24]

References

  1. ^ Five MU faculty named Curators' Distinguished Professors
  2. ^ Zhang, Y., and Faghri, A., 1996, “Heat Transfer Enhancement in Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage System by Using the Internally Finned Tube,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 39(15), pp. 3165-3173.
  3. ^ Zhou, J., Zhang, Y., and Chen, J.K., 2009, “Numerical Simulation of Laser Irradiation to a Randomly Packed Bimodal Powder Bed,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 52(13-14), pp. 3137-3146.
  4. ^ Zhang, Y., and Faghri, A., 2000, “Thermal Modeling of Selective Area Laser Deposition of Titanium Nitride on a Finite Slab with Stationary and Moving Laser Beams,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 43(20), pp. 3835-3846.
  5. ^ Zhang, Y., 2006, “Nonequilibrium Modeling of Heat Transfer in a Gas-Saturated Powder Layer Subject to a Short-Pulsed Heat Source,” Numer. Heat Transfer, Part A, 50(6), pp. 509-524.
  6. ^ Zhang, Y., and Faghri, A., 2002, “Heat Transfer in a Pulsating Heat Pipe with Open End,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 45(4), pp. 755-764.
  7. ^ Zhang, Y., and Faghri, A., 2003, “Oscillatory Flow in Pulsating Heat Pipes with Arbitrary Numbers of Turns,” J. Thermophys. Heat Transfer, 17(3), pp. 340-347.
  8. ^ Zhang, Y., and Chen, J.K., 2007, “Melting and Resolidification of Gold Film Irradiated by Nano- to Femtosecond Lasers,” Appl. Phys. A-Mater., 88(2), pp. 289-297.
  9. ^ Afrin, N., Zhou, J., Zhang, Y., Tzou, D.Y., and J., Chen, J.K., 2012, “Numerical Simulation of Thermal Damage to Living Biological Tissues Induced by Laser Irradiation based on a Generalized Dual Phase Lag Model,” Numer. Heat Transfer, Part A, 61(7), pp. 483-501.
  10. ^ Afrin, N., Zhang, Y., and Chen, J.K., 2016, “Uncertainty Analysis of Melting and Resolidification of Gold Film Irradiated by Nano- to Femtosecond Lasers Using Stochastic Method,” J. Heat Transfer, 138(6), p. 062301
  11. ^ Li, L., Zhang, Y., Ma, H. B., and Yang, M., 2008, “An Investigation of Molecular Layering at the Liquid-Solid Interface in Nanofluids by Molecular Dynamics Simulation,” Phys. Lett. A, 372(25), pp. 4541–4544.
  12. ^ Mohammadian, S.K., and Zhang, Y., 2015, “Thermal Management Optimization of an Air-Cooled Li-ion Battery Module Using Pin-Fin Heat Sinks for Hybrid Electric Vehicles,” J. Power Sources, 273, pp. 431-439.
  13. ^ Mohammadian, S.K., and Zhang, Y., 2018, “Improving Wettability and Preventing Li-Ion Batteries from Thermal Runaway Using Microchannels,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 118, pp. 911-918.
  14. ^ Tayeb, R., and Zhang, Y., 2023, "“A Machine Learning Approach to Model Oxidation of Toluene in a Bubble Column Reactor," ASME Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 145(5), 052003
  15. ^ Bazgir, A., and Zhang, Y., 2024, "Harnessing Deep Learning to Solve Inverse Transient Heat Transfer With Periodic Boundary Condition," Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications, 16(12), 121001
  16. ^ "Mizzou Engineering faculty among top 2% of world scientists". Mizzou Engineering. October 27, 2025.
  17. ^ ScholarGPS Profile: Yuwen Zhang
  18. ^ AFTFE Fellowship
  19. ^ University of Missouri Coulter Translational Partnership Program
  20. ^ 2015 AAAS Fellows Recognized for Contributions to Advancing Science.
  21. ^ Mechanical and aerospace engineering professor receives Chancellor’s Award
  22. ^ ASME Fellows.
  23. ^ AIAA Associate Fellows Roster
  24. ^ ONR Announces Young Investigator Program Awards, Office of Naval Research, February 20, 2002.
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