Current Members – Energy Transport Lab

Principal Investigator

Solomon Adera

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan
Education: PhD, MechE, MIT
Membership:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) since 2009
National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) since 2009
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) since 2022
American Physical Society (APS) since 2022
ASME K-16 Heat Transfer division since 2020
Pi Tau Sigma Nu Chapter since 2008
Tau Beta Pi (TBP) since 2008
Beta Lambda Alpha International Honor Society since 2007

Currently, we are looking for motivated and creative graduate and undergraduate students to join our group. Interested students are encouraged to apply for graduate admission. Admitted students are encouraged to contact Prof. Adera via email. Undergraduate students should email Prof. Adera with their resume.

Dogtoral Assistant and Lab Manager

Dogtor CoCo

Dogtor CoCo is the Lab Manager (05/03/2021-present).

Postdoctoral Researchers / Visiting Scholars

Tomasz Kulakowski

Tom was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland. He obtained the title of engineer in 2014, dealing with the subject of energy efficiency of buildings. In 2016, he obtained a master’s degree defending his thesis in the field of construction. He obtained both titles at Warsaw University of Technology. From 2016 to 2022, he participated in doctoral studies at the Warsaw University of Technology, from which he graduated with honors in 2022. He is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Fundamentals of Civil Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology. He joined ETL in August 2023 as a DEKABAN Fund fellow.

Email: [email protected]

John Kim

John was born in California and raised in Seoul, South Korea. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Seoul National University. In 2024, he completed his Ph.D. in the Wooldridge Combustion Laboratory at the University of Michigan. He joined ETL in March 2025.

In his spare time, he enjoys playing soccer and computer games.

Email: [email protected]

Graduate Students

Yimin Zhou

Yimin was born and raised in Chengdu, Sichuan (Szechuan), China. She received her B.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering with the highest honors from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in July 2020. She joined ETL in Fall 2020.

She has a great interest in global energy utilization and environmental sustainability. Her current research project is phase-change heat transfer for thermal management applications.

Outside the lab, she is an e-board member of Qingyun Chinese Music Ensemble, a student organization at U of M that features traditional Chinese musical instruments.

Email: [email protected]

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Biruk Teka Gidreta

Biruk was born and raised in Ethiopia. He obtained his B.S. degree in ME with highest honors from Pusan National University in South Korea in February 2020, and obtained his MS degree in ME from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in August 2022. He joined ETL in Fall 2022. His current research interest is in droplet impact on micro/nanostructured lubricated porous structures.

In his spare time, he likes to play soccer and swim.

Email: [email protected]

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Young Jin Lee

Young Jin, from Seoul, South Korea, obtained his B.S. degree in ME from Seoul National University of Science and Technology and completed his M.S. degree in ME at Korea University. During his B.S. and M.S., he worked at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. He joined ETL in Fall 2024.

He is currently working on measuring the nanoscale thin thickness of a wrapping oil film on a water droplet deposited on an oil-infused surface. Additionally, he is interested in acoustically enhanced boiling and its applications.

In his free time, he enjoys going to the gym and cooking.

Email: [email protected]

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Priyanka Viswanath

Priyanka was born and raised in India. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from PES University, India. She joined ETL in Winter 2024. She is currently working towards earning her Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Her research in on the enhancement of pool boiling heat transfer.

In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and singing.

Email: [email protected]

Arkady Grunin

Arkady received a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the City College of New York in 2019. Since the completion of his undergraduate studies, Arkady has been employed with the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) in the Analytics Fluid, Thermal & Survivability Team. His professional focus pertains to fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and computational engineering. Arkady is currently pursuing an MSE at the University of Michigan on a part-time basis.

Email: [email protected]

Hrushikesh Jadhav

Hrushikesh was born and brought up in India. He obtained a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India. During his undergraduate studies, he worked at IIT Kanpur, Reliance Industries Limited, and IG Drones. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. His interests lie in energy generation and conservation.

In his free time, he enjoys playing badminton, singing, and cooking!

Email: [email protected]

Dave Martin

Dave Martin hails from India with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, which he completed in 2022. His research interests lie in thermal and fluid sciences. Prior to joining ETL in Fall 2024, he held research positions at Indian Institute of Technology Patna, contributing to novel heat dissipation methods in microgravity environments and surface activity of ethanol-water mixtures for dropwise condensation applications.

His current work primarily is in studying the droplet dynamics on SLIPS.

Outside of academia, Dave loves sketching, and experimenting in the kitchen.

Email: [email protected]

Nicholas Bush

Nick was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2024. Currently, he is working towards a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. He joined ETL in Winter 2024. His interests include renewable energy and design optimization.

In his free time he enjoys playing tennis, pool billiards, and weight lifting.

Email: [email protected]

Undergraduate Students

Vaibhavi Manjarekar

Vaibhavi was born in India and raised in Singapore. She is a freshman working towards her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Michigan. She joined ETL in the fall 2024 semester and her work will be focused on experimental characterization and modeling of droplet breakup during impact.

She is currently a member of MRover and the Michigan ballroom dance team.

In her free time, she enjoys playing the guitar and writing short stories.

Email: [email protected]

Stephen Speyer

Stephen was born and raised in a Mexican household in Los Angeles, California. He is currently an undergraduate freshman studying Mechanical Engineering and joined ETL in the fall of 2024.

His research is on droplet impact dynamics on lubricant-infused surfaces.

In his free time, Stephen enjoys working on cars, boxing, weightlifting, playing soccer and baseball.

Email: [email protected]

Jason Fan

Jason Fan, originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He joined the ETL in the Fall of 2024.

Jason is a member of Michigan Research and Discovery Scholars, as well as MRacing and MACH.

In his free time, Jason enjoys playing piano and guitar.

Email: [email protected]

Gabriel Argotte

Gabriel was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He is an undergraduate freshman pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and he joined ETL in the fall of 2024.
Gabriel is a member of the Michigan Research and Discovery Scholars.

In his free time, Gabriel enjoys playing guitar, listening to music, and drawing.

Email: [email protected]

Zhaochen Yang

Zhaochen grew up in Chengdu, China. He joined ETL in Winter 2025 and is working on boiling enhancement using 3D-printed surfaces. Currently, he serves as an Instructional Aide for ME 240 and ME 311.

In his free time, Zhaochen enjoys traveling and photography.

Email: [email protected]

Keegan Nugent

Keegan was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up there. He is currently a senior studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He is joining the ETL in winter 2025.

He is a part of the Michigan wrestling team and enjoys cooking in his spare time.

Email: [email protected]

Takiyah Ali

Takiyah is a senior at the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering, where she is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She was raised in Canton, MI, and is a Michigan native. She joined ETL in Winter 2025, excited to deepen her technical and professional skills.

Takiyah is a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). In addition to her academic and extracurricular commitments, she enjoys reading.

Email: [email protected]

Rudy Lee

Rudy grew up in San Fransciso, California, and is currently a senior studying mechanical engineering. He joined ETL in winter 2025 and is working on designing a wicking mesh 3d printed component.

In his free time, he enjoys spending time outdoors and working on projects like his school bus tiny home, e-bike, and dirt bike.

Email: [email protected]