Dan Kotlyar

Dan Kotlyar's profile picture
dan.kotlyar@me.gatech.edu

Dr. Dan Kotlyar is an Assistant Professor in the Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, G.W.W. School of Mechanical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Engineering in 2008, MSc in Nuclear Engineering in 2010, and PhD in Nuclear Engineering in 2013 from Ben-Gurion University, Israel. In 2014, he joined the University of Cambridge as a Research Associate in the Engineering Design Center. In 2014, he was elected as a Research Fellow at Jesus College. He is the recipient of the NRC Faculty Development Fellowship. Dr. Kotlyar’s research interests include development of numerical methods and algorithms for coupled Monte Carlo, fuel depletion and thermal hydraulic codes. In particular, he specializes in applying these methods to the analysis of advanced reactor systems. Dr. Kotlyar’s research also focuses on optimizing the performance of various fuel cycles in terms of fuel utilization, proliferation, and cost. Dr. Kotlyar profoundly believes in education through research and thus integrates practical reactor system design into his lectures.

Associate Professor, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Additional Research

Nuclear

University, College, and School/Department

Srinivas Garimella

Srinivas Garimella's profile picture
srinivas.garimella@me.gatech.edu

Dr. Garimella began at Tech in August 2003 as an Associate Professor and Director of the Sustainable Thermal Systems Laboratory. Prior, he was an Associate Professor at Iowa State University, an Assistant and Associate Professor at Western Michigan University, a Research Scientist at Battelle Memorial Institute, and a Senior Engineer at General Motors.

Professor, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Hightower Chair in Engineering
Phone
(404) 894-7479
Additional Research

Thermal Systems

University, College, and School/Department

William Koros

William Koros's profile picture
wjk@chbe.gatech.edu

Materials for membranes, sorbents, and barrier packaging applications rely upon the same fundamental principles. Thermodynamically controlled partitioning of a penetrant, such as carbon dioxide into a membrane, sorbent or barrier packaging layer is the first step in the transport process. If the material is a polymer, cooperative motions of the matrix enable diffusive motion by the penetrant. In highly rigid carbon molecular sieves and zeolites, motion of the matrix is negligible, and penetrant transport is governed by the relative size of pre-existing pores and the penetrant molecule.

Koros’s group is a leader in developing advanced materials for membranes, sorbents, and barrier applications by optimization materials to either promote or retard transport of specific components. For instance, for a chosen penetrant such as carbon dioxide, the Koros group can create a barrier, a selective membrane, or a sorbent by materials engineering. Work is also underway in the Koros group to form “mixed matrix composite” materials comprised of blends of metal organic framework or other specialty components within the matrix of a conventional polymer. This approach allows further optimization of transport properties without sacrificing the ease of processing associated with conventional polymers.

Effects due to non equilibrium thermodynamic and non-Fickian transport phenomena are additional topics his group studies. Long lived conditioning effects due to exposure of membranes and barriers to elevated concentrations of certain penetrants are typical of such non equilibrium phenomena. Protracted aging of glassy polymers, carbons, and inorganic membranes after formation or conditioning treatments also are of interest to his research group. In many cases, these effects seem to defy logic—until one realizes that an expanded set of rules governs these out-of-equilibrium materials.

Professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
GRA Eminent Scholar in Membranes
Roberto C. Goizueta Chair for Excellence in Chemical Engineering
Phone
404.385.2845
Office
B-H 447
Additional Research

Polymers; Seperation Membranes; Heat Transfer

Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=nWxkxtgAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Shannon Yee

Shannon Yee's profile picture
shannon.yee@me.gatech.edu

Shannon Yee began as an Assistant Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering in January 2014. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California - Berkeley under the supervision of Prof. Arun Majumdar, Prof. Chris Dames, and Prof. Rachel Segalman. In 2010, he was named the first fellow to the U.S. Dept. of Energy 's Advanced Research Project Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) assisting to form the agency in its inaugural year. In 2008 he was awarded the prestigious Hertz Fellowship to support his graduate studies and research in energy. Yee received his Master 's degree in Nuclear Engineering in 2008 from The Ohio State University where he was a U.S. Dept. of Energy Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative Fellow. He received his Bachelor 's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2007, also from The Ohio State University.

Professor, Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
Phone
404.385.2176
Office
Love 307
Additional Research

Heat Transfer; Combustion and Energy Systems; Micro and Nano Engineering; Nuclear & Radiological Engineering

Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=GSDT2XYAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Chelsea White

Chelsea White's profile picture
cwhite@isye.gatech.edu

Chelsea C. White III is the Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics and Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech​. 

His most recent research interests include analyzing the role of real-time information and enabling information technology for improved logistics and, more generally, supply chain productivity and risk mitigation, with special focus on the U.S. trucking industry. 

His involvement with the IEEE includes serving as President of the Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC) Society (1992 - 93). He received the Norbert Wiener Award in 1999 and the Joseph G. Wohl Outstanding Career Award in 2005, both from the IEEE SMC Society, and an IEEE Third Millennium Medal. The Norbert Wiener Award is the SMC’s highest award recognizing lifetime contributions in research. He is the recipient of the 2008 IEEE ITSS ITS Outstanding Research Award for “significant contributions in research and development in global transportation and logistic systems.” He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of INFORMS, a former member of the Executive Board of CIEADH (Council of Industrial Engineering Academic Department Heads), and the founding chair of the IEEE TAB Committee on ITS (now an IEEE Society). He is a former member of the World Economic Forum trade facilitation council. He is currently the Systems Strategies theme leader for the DHS National Center for Food Protection and Defense and the Industry Studies Association liaison to INFORMS. 

Dr. White is the former editor of the IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Parts A and C, and was the founding editor of the IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). He has served as the ITS Series book editor for Artech House Publishing Company. He is co-author (with A.P. Sage) of the second edition of Optimum Systems Control (Prentice-Hall, 1977), co-editor (with D.E. Brown) of Operations Research and Artificial Intelligence: Integration of Problem Solving Strategies (Kluwer, 1990), and co-editor (with D.L. Belman) of Trucking in the Information Age (Ashgate, 2005). He has published primarily in the areas of the control of finite stochastic systems and knowledge-based decision support systems. 

He has been a keynote speaker at a variety of international conferences and meetings. He has made presentations at the Council on Competitiveness and the Brookings Institution on the impact of information technology for international freight distribution, security, and productivity. He has represented ITS America by providing testimony during a roundtable discussion entitled Reauthorization of the Federal Surface Transportation Research Program, held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. He has testified before the California Senate Committee on Transportation & Housing Public Hearing on ITS and before the Joint Georgia State Senate/House Future of Manufacturing Study Committee on trends & challenges in supply chain & logistics engineering. 

He has served on the faculties of the University of Virginia (1976 - 1990) and UM (1990 - 2001). He has served as school chair of the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (2005-10), where he is the director of the Trucking Industry Program (TIP) and the former executive director of The Logistics Institute. He serves on the boards of directors for Con-way, Inc. (NYSE: CNW), The Logistics Institute-Asia Pacific, the Industry Studies Association, and the Bobby Dodd Institute, and is a former member of the board of ITS America (a Utilized Federal Advisory Committee) and the ITS World Congress. 

Chelsea C. White III received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (UM) in 1974 in Computer, Information, and Control Engineering.

Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics
Phone
404.894.2303
Office
Groseclose Building, Room 430
Additional Research

Hydrogen Transport/Storage; Analyzing the role of real-time information and enabling information technology for improved logistics; supply chain productivity and risk mitigation

Research Focus Areas

Sankar Nair

Sankar Nair's profile picture
sankar.nair@chbe.gatech.edu

Research Interests

  • Creating, understanding, and engineering nanoporous materials and membranes through innovative processing strategies.
  • Basic and applied problems in advanced separations, process intensification, energy production and storage, petro- and bio-based chemicals and materials, and critical materials.

Teaching Interests

Professor Nair’s teaching interests encompass core chemical engineering principles at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including separations, process safety engineering, and advanced materials. His instruction emphasizes foundational concepts and their practical applications, aiming to develop strong analytical and problem-solving skills. He actively engages students in learning processes that integrate theoretical knowledge with experimental understanding, supporting development across chemical engineering disciplines.

Education

B.Tech ChE 1997, Indian Institute of Technology DelhiM.S. Physics 2002, Univ. of Massachusetts AmherstPh.D. ChE 2002, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst

Recent Publications

VD Brandão, O Long, S Zhong, R Fushio, A Venkataraman, H Song, ..., Local pH Effects on the Temperature Dependence of Product Formation in CO2 Electrolyzers, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026

M Realff, Q Fu, Y Chiang, S Nair, Adsorption System and Process for Biofuel Precursor and Adsorbent Material for the Same, US Patent App. 19/068,859, 2025

N Yutthasaksunthorn, KSK Zaw, SA Sinquefield, S Nair, Pillared and Reduced Graphene Oxide Membranes for Organic Solvent Nanofiltration, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 64 (38), 18817-18825, 2025

OA Ojelade, S Nair, CW Jones, Thermodynamic Analysis of the Hydrodeoxygenation of Hydroxy Acid Mixtures, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 64 (47), 22552-22562, 2025

N Yutthasaksunthorn, Y Chang, VS Nguyen, KSK Zaw, SA Sinquefield, ..., Graphene Oxide Membranes for Sustainable Recycling: Poly (styrene) Fractionation by Organic Solvent Nanofiltration, ACS Engineering Au, 2025

Google Scholar

Professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
James F. Simmons Faculty Fellow, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Associate Chair for Industry Outreach, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Phone
404.894.4826
Office
ES&T 2224
Additional Research

Nanomaterials; Biofuels; Carbon Capture; Catalysis; Separations Technology; Chemical Recovery; Energy & Water

Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=DCrJnGIAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Meilin Liu

Meilin Liu's profile picture
meilin.liu@mse.gatech.edu

Liu's primary interests lie in fundamental understanding of the effect of structure, defects, and microstructure on transport and electrical properties of surfaces and interfaces. In particular, he is interested in developing new materials for energy storage and conversion, for chemical sensing, and for hydrogen production and separation In addition, he is interested in mathematical modeling of mass and charge transport in solid electrochemical systems and polarization at interfaces.

Liu's current research activities include (1) in-situ characterization of gas-solid interactions using FTIR/Raman spectromicroscopy, impedance spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry; (2) study of transport phenomena and kinetics in ionic and electronic conductors and the effect of imperfections on electrophysical and electrochemical properties; (3) fabrication and characterization of ceramic membranes, thin films, and coatings; mesoporous and nanostructured electrodes and interfaces; and solid-state ionic devices; and (4) development of new materials for high-selectivity gas sensors, for high-energy-density batteries, for low-temperature solid-state fuel cells, and for high temperature PEM fuel cells.

Liu holds 20 U.S. patents and a number of patent applications, co-edited seven proceedings volumes, and published more than 250 papers in reputed journals, book chapter, and conference proceedings. He has also been the co-organizer of 11 international symposia/workshops on materials for energy storage and conversion devices, sensors, and gas separation.

Liu is a fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS) and the Electrochemical Society (ECS). He is the recipient of a Ross Coffin Purdy Award (American Ceramic Society, 2010), an NASA Tech Brief Award (2007), an invited participant, US-Japan Frontiers of Engineering (National Academy of Engineering, 2007); a Crystal Flame Innovation Award in Research (FuelCell South, 2005); an Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Award (Georgia Tech, 2003), A Sustained Research Award (Sigma Xi, 2003), a senior Teaching Fellow (Georgia Tech, 2002), a Best Faculty Paper Award (Sigma Xi, 2001), an Outstanding Faculty Research Author Award (Georgia Tech, 1999), an invited participant, Frontiers of Engineering (National Academy of Engineering, 1997), a Best MS Thesis Advisor Award (Sigma Xi, 1996), a National Young Investigator Award (NSF, 1993-98), and a Scholastic Achievement Award (Golden Gate Chapter of ASM, 1986).

Regents' Professor, School of Materials Science and Engineering
Hightower Chair, School of Materials Science and Engineering
Phone
404.894.6114
Office
Love 258
Additional Research

Energy Storage; Energy Conversion; Fuel Cells; Batteries; Thin Films; Hydrogen

Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=1YvZ8LAAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Paul Kohl

Paul Kohl's profile picture
paul.kohl@chbe.gatech.edu

Paul Kohl received a B.S. degree from Bethany College in 1974 and Ph.D. from The University of Texas, both in Chemistry. After graduation, Kohl was employed at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ from 1978 to 1989. During that time, he was involved in the design and processing of electronic packages for Bell system components. He created new chemical processes for silicon, compound semiconductor, and MEMS devices. In 1989, he joined the faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, where he is currently a Regents' Professor and holder of the Thomas L. Gossage/Hercules Inc. Chair. He is the President of The Electrochemical Society and past Editor of Journal of The Electrochemical Society and past founding editor of Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters. Kohl's research interests include the design of new materials, processes, and packages for advanced interconnect for integrated circuits and MEMS devices. He is the past Director of the Semiconductor Research Corporation/DARPA Interconnect Focus Center. The goal of this center was to create new technological solutions for future electronic devices. Current projects include creation of new photosensitive dielectric materials for electronic packaging and the design and fabrication of MEMS packages. He also has programs in new approaches to fuel cells and lithium batteries. The new direct methanol alkaline fuel cells and hybrid alkaline/acid fuel cells have the potential reduced water management and platinum free usage. The integration of high energy density lithium batteries for self-powered integrated circuits and sensors is of interest. Many of these electrochemical devices use ionic liquids as the electrolytes, including the all-sodium battery. Ionic liquids are also being used as the absorber in a new absorption refrigeration cycle. The first ever ionic liquid/fluorocarbon absorption refrigeration cycle has been demonstrated and modeled.

Regents' Professor and Fellow, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Thomas L. Gossage Chair, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Phone
404.894.2893
Office
B-H 386
Additional Research

Interconnect and Electronic Packaging; MEMS; Electronic Systems, Devices, Components, & Packaging; Fuel Cells; Separation Membranes