Xiaojia Wang

Xiaojia Wang
Associate Professor, Mechanical EngineeringContact
Mechanical Engineering Room 246 111 Church Street SEMinneapolis, MN 55455
Affiliations
Education
Ph.D. 2011, Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
M.E. Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
B.S. 2004, Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Professional Background
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2020 - Present
Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2014 - 2020
Graduate Faculty, Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2016 - Present
Graduate Faculty, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 2020 - Present
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2012-2014,
Scientific & Professional Societies
- Scientific Council of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer (ICHMT)
- ASME HTD K9 Committee on Nanoscale Thermal Transport
- International Thermoelectric Society
- American Physical Society
- Research Society
Biography
The Wang group at the University of Minnesota (UMN) focuses on the basic science and engineering of energy transport in nanostructured materials and across nanoscale interfaces. We explore the mechanisms through which light (photons, electromagnetic waves), charge (movement of electrons), heat (vibration of crystalline lattices), and spin (angular momentum of electrons) are converted to useful forms of energy (e.g., electricity), and their applications (e.g., electronic cooling and data storage). To achieve this, we invent and implement state-of-the-art ultrafast measurement methods to reveal the rich physics of heat and spin transport, which enables us to better design and optimize materials with desirable functionalities.
Lab
Micro/Nanoscale Thermal Transport Laboratory — ME 55
ME Impact Areas
Energy Transition
Environment & Sustainability
Next-Gen Manufacturing
- Ultrafast laser spectroscopy
- Thermal transport properties of materials (such as bulk, thin films, nanoparticles, and composites) and interfaces to (1) establish the structure-thermal property relationship and (2) design and synthesize functional materials via structural engineering
- Thermal management of electronic devices and electrical systems
- Solid-state energy conversion
- Spin precession and magnetization dynamics in magnetic materials for data storage and spintronic devices
- Radiative and optical properties of nanostructured materials
Honors and Awards
- MN Futures Award, 2019
- 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, 2018-2020
- Invited Symposium Talk at APS March Meeting, 2018
- Invited Symposium Talk at MRS Fall Meeting, 2020
- Innovation Award at IMECE, 2009
Selected Publications
- Lattery, D., Zhang, D.L., Zhu, J., Wang, J.P., Wang, X.J., "Low Gilbert Damping Constant in Perpendicularly Magnetized W/CoFeB/MgO Films with High Thermal Stability," Scientific Reports, 2018, 8, p. 13395
- Wu, X.W., Walter, J., Feng, T.L., Zhu, J., Zheng, H., Mitchell, J.F., Biškup, N., Varela, M., Ruan, X.L., Leighton, C., Wang, X.J., "Glass-like Through-Plane Thermal Conductivity Induced by Oxygen Vacancies in Nanoscale Epitaxial La0.5Sr0.5CoO3-δ." Advanced Functional Materials, 2017, 27 (47), p. 1704233.
- Zheng, K., Sun, F., Zhu, J., Ma, Y., Li, X., Tang, D., Wang, F., and Wang, X.J., "Enhancing the thermal conductance of polymer and sapphire interface via Self-Assembled Monolayer." ACS Nano, 2016, 10 (8), pp. 7792–7798
- Chen, J.Y., Zhu, J., Zhang, D., Lattery, D., Li, M., Wang, J.P., and Wang, X.J., "Time-Resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect of Magnetic Nano-Films for Ultrafast Thermal Characterization." The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2016, 7, pp. 2328-2332.
- Wu, X.W., Ni, Y., Zhu, J., Burrows, N.D., Murphy, C.J., Dumitrica, T., Wang, X.J., "Thermal Transport across Surfactant Layers on Gold Nanorods in Aqueous Solution." ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2016, 8 (16), pp. 10581–10589.