Past Event: Multiscale Engineering, Mathematics and Sciences Seminar

Multiphase Thermal Transport and Energy Integration in High-Performance Electronic Systems

Damena Agonafer, University of Maryland - College Park

Abstract

Thermal management is a defining challenge at the intersection of advanced electronics and energy systems. As device power densities and architectural complexity continue to rise, new approaches to multiphase heat transfer, thermal transport, and system-level integration are required. At the Nanoscale Energy and Interfacial Transport Lab (NEIT Lab), we develop integrated thermal solutions that bridge fundamental transport physics with scalable cooling technologies. Our work on pumped two-phase evaporative cooling connects microscale droplet-evaporation physics to deployment in data center environments. Using a combined theoretical and experimental framework based on the nonequilibrium Gibbs criterion, we show how evaporation and surface properties govern droplet pinning, enabling the predictive design of high-performance evaporative-cooling surfaces and direct-to-chip cooling technologies with water and dielectric fluids. We further develop a pseudo-two-phase cooling strategy using encapsulated phase-change material slurries to enhance effective heat capacity, alongside advanced thermal characterization of GaN and multilayer systems via thermoreflectance-based techniques. To bridge device- to system-level design, we develop physics-informed neural network models to construct digital twins for electronics and data centers. Finally, we position thermal management as an opportunity in energy systems. We demonstrate how waste heat from high-power electronic platforms can be captured and repurposed for district heating, redefining data centers as active contributors to sustainable energy infrastructure. We will also introduce the NSF Engineering Research Center EARTH, for which we serve as the University of Maryland site lead, driving the development of sustainable refrigerant lifecycle technologies for HVACR and data center systems.

Biography

Dr. Damena Agonafer is an Associate Professor and Inaugural Clark Faculty Fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 2025, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on early-career scientists and engineers.

Professor Agonafer’s research sits at the intersection of thermal-fluid sciences, interfacial transport phenomena, and energy systems. His work focuses on developing advanced materials and engineering novel systems for thermal management of power-dense electronics, as well as thermochemical and electrochemical energy storage. By tuning solid-liquid-vapor interactions at micro- and nanoscale lengths, his research aims to enable transformative advances in energy and thermal technologies.

His group designs micro- and nanostructured materials for phase-change heat transfer, interfacial transport, and energy storage applications. These innovations support a range of applications, including high-power electronics cooling, battery thermal management, data center cooling, and more efficient HVAC systems.

Professor Agonafer received his PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University in Professor Ken Goodson’s Nanoheat Lab. His honors include the Sloan Research Fellowship, the NSF CAREER Award, the Google Research Award, the Cisco Research Award, multiple ASME early-career awards, and selection to the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. He currently serves as a site lead for the NSF Engineering Research Center on Environmental Refrigerant Technology, which is focused on developing a sustainable refrigerant lifecycle to address key challenges in the HVACR industry.