Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Graduate Seminar

Recently, the energy sector has embarked on several new and transformative initiatives to improve the energy efficiency and comfort provided by HVAC and dehumidification systems, especially with the emergence of A2L and A3 refrigerants. These include Net Zero Energy Buildings, Separating Sensible and Latent Cooling. (SSLC), minimize water utilization and water production.

This talk will highlight new material developments and system designs leading to new and transformative technologies. This will include a fundamental understanding of the heat and mass transfer processes and the design of a non-vapor compression cycle cooling/dehumidification system. Finally, the status of high-fidelity simulation tools and new experimental techniques leading to the design and implementation of new vapor compression systems will be summarized.

Speaker: William M. Worek, Ph.D.

Dr. William M. Worek is a Senior Building Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.  He received all three degrees, B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1976, 1977, and 1980. He spent most of his career at the University of Illinois – Chicago, where he was Department Head and Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and Director of the Energy Resources Center. He has been involved, over the last 47 years, in the development of desiccant materials for cooling systems applications, modeling of sorption processes, experimental testing of desiccant material performance, and the use of desiccant processes in the design of cooling and dehumidification systems. He holds three patents on sorption system design improvements has published extensively in archival journals and has given numerous lectures on the subject. In addition, recently he has investigated methods to enhance boiling by using new fluids and enhancing the surface morphology.  Professor Worek was chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME’s) Solar Energy Division, Vice-President of ASME’s Energy Resources Group, and served as a Member of ASME’s Board of Governors. He is a Life Fellow of the ASME, Life Fellow of the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and has received the Edwin F. Church Medal from ASME recognizing his accomplishments in engineering education and the Frank Kreith Energy Award. Professor Worek is Co-editor of the 12^th Edition of Mark’s Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Past Executive Editor of Applied Thermal Engineering, and Editor-in-Chief of The International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer and the Heat Transfer Journal.