Collaborate with us
If you are interested in exploring a problem together, whether you want to understand the thermal behavior of a system, learn how a surface emits or absorbs infrared radiation, explore metasurfaces and nanostructures for controlling light-matter interactions, or see how these effects influence performance, we can help with modeling, experiments, design, and early-stage feasibility studies.
Ways to work with us
Measurement and characterization
We measure spectral reflectance and transmittance from 700 nm to 15 µm, at incident angles from 5° to 75°, with independent control of incident and analyzed polarization so co- and cross-polarized components are separated, and extract spectral emissivity for opaque samples. We also measure thin-film thickness and effective optical constants.
SBIR and STTR partnership
The Energy Photonics Lab can serve as the research institution partner on STTR proposals. STTR requires a small business to team with a research institution that performs a defined share of the work.
Our capabilities map onto solicitation topics in infrared signature management, thermal management of electronics and batteries, thermophotovoltaic and waste-heat conversion, and energy-efficient building envelopes, primarily DoD, DOE, and NSF.
Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS)
The Maryland Industrial Partnerships program provides matching funds for university research that helps a Maryland company develop a product, and UMBC is an eligible institution. Projects are proposed jointly by the company and the faculty researcher.
For a Maryland start-up this is the lowest-cost entry point into a substantial project: the program has historically awarded up to $90,000 per year to start-up firms against a much smaller company contribution.
Thermal simulation and modeling
Conjugate heat transfer and CFD
COMSOL Multiphysics with the Heat Transfer and CFD modules, applied to electronics and power-module cooling, battery pack thermal behavior, cold plates and heat exchangers, enclosure and duct flow, and airflow in occupied spaces. Conduction, convection, and radiation are solved together.
HVAC and building energy systems
Zone-level thermal modeling, equipment sizing and load analysis, and evaluation of control strategies.
We also work on model-predictive and learning-based control for HVAC, and validate strategies on hardware-in-the-loop testbeds along with simulation.
Application areas
Thermal signature management
Tunable and static infrared metasurfaces for controlling apparent temperature and emission direction across the atmospheric transmission windows.
Waste-heat and thermophotovoltaic conversion
Wavelength-selective emitters matched to a photovoltaic cell bandgap, with suppression of sub-bandgap radiative loss.
Radiative cooling and building envelopes
Passive and switchable radiative cooling surfaces, thermochromic coatings, and envelope materials evaluated under realistic conditions.
Electronics and battery thermal management
Conjugate heat transfer simulation, radiative and passive thermal pathways, and sensor-informed control for systems that are thermally limited.
HVAC and building energy systems
Load and equipment analysis, reduced-order zone models identified from measured data, and model-predictive or learning-based control evaluated on hardware-in-the-loop testbeds.
Data centers and power electronics
Airflow and cold-plate modeling, enclosure thermal design, and identification of where the dominant thermal resistance actually sits in a densely packed system.
Energy Photonics Lab · Department of Mechanical Engineering · University of Maryland, Baltimore County · Principal Investigator: Alok Ghanekar