SPEAKERS

Theodorian Borca-Tasciuc is a Professor in the Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he started as an Assistant Professor in 2001. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 2000 and a BS in Physics from Bucharest University in 1995. Theo Borca-Tasciuc’s research interests focus on nanoscale thermal and thermoelectric transport characterization and materials for thermal management and energy conversion applications. He received the NSF CAREER award (2004), is an associate editor for the Journal of Nanomaterials, and a member of the ASME’s K8 committee on Fundamentals of Heat Transfer and K9 committee on Nanoscale Thermal Transport. Over the years has organized and chaired symposia and sessions on nanoscale thermal transport and energy conversion with ASME and MRS. Current research topics in his laboratory includes thermoelectric transport in nanostructures and nanomaterials; contact thermal and electrical resistance across interfaces; controllable thermal valves; high conductance thermal interface materials; and development of thermal and thermoelectric characterization techniques for thermoelectric nanostructures and devices. He has authored or co-authored more than 65 articles in peer-reviewed international journals. He is a co-founder and director of ThermoAura Inc. a thermoelectric nanomaterials start-up company.