The Chair welcomes Prof. Gang Chen from MIT

Prof. Chen has received the prestigious Humboldt Research Award in 2025 by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which is awarded to internationally leading researchers from abroad across all disciplines, in recognition of their academic record to date. Prof. Chen is the Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for former Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He received an ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award, an ASME Frank Kreith Award in Energy, a Nukiyama Memorial Award by the Japan Heat Transfer Society, a World Technology Network Award in Energy, an Eringen medal from the Society of Engineering Science, an Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellences in Mentoring and Advising from MIT, an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award, an Steven Chu Medal from Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering, and an American Courage Award from Asian American Advancing Justice.  He is a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Physical Society, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Guggenheim Foundation.  He received an honorary Doctor of Science from University of Hong Kong.  He is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Science, an academician of the Academia Sinica, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a member of US National Academy of Sciences. Prof Chen’s research interests focus on nanoscale thermal transport and energy conversion phenomena and their applications in energy storage and conversion, thermal management, and water treatment and desalination. He has made important contributions to the understanding of heat transfer in nanostructures and has exploited this understanding to develop energy conversion, storage, and water technologies

Prof. Chen’s first visit is in June – July 2026 and his office is in MW1738. He will work with Prof. Wen and colleagues on a few fundamental aspects of nanoscale energy conversion that have confused the communities for a while, such as interfacial evaporation under light and heat, and ultrafast heat transfer at the nanoscale. The Chair extends its best wishes to Prof. Chen for a pleasant stay in Munich.