November 19, 2026
Prof. Yi Zheng
Associate Professor at Northeastern University & Founder and President of Planck Energies
on "Sustainable, Cost-effective Functional Materials for Passive Cooling and Water Treatment" Date Thursday, November 19, 2026 | 6:00-8:00 p.m. (EST) Location Boston University (BU) | Center for Computing and Data Sciences (CDS) 665 Commonwealth Ave, Boston MA 02215 | Rm. 1101 (11th Floor) Scroll down to register and view important event details.
Abstract
This talk will focus on passive radiative cooling and solar-driven water desalination technologies and the issues that have hindered their development for real-life applications. Our goals are to improve buildings’ energy efficiency by reducing the need for traditional vapor-compression cooling systems and enhance freshwater production by taking advantage of the renewable energy. Part 1: The compressor-based cooling systems, providing comfortable interior environments for infrastructures, account for about 20% of the total electricity consumption around the world. Moreover, the resultant heating effect and greenhouse gas emissions towards the environment accelerate global warming and climate change. An energy-efficient and eco-friendly cooling approach is highly demanded. The emerging passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) technique can achieve sub-ambient cooling effects under direct sunlight without any energy consumption by simultaneously reflecting sunlight and radiating excessive heat as infrared thermal radiation to the cold outer space through the Earth’s atmospheric window. Such an approach is becoming an attractive candidate for improving energy efficiencies for buildings, because it eliminates the need for coolant, electricity, and compressor required by traditional mechanical cooling systems. Part 2: Interfacial solar steam generation is emerging as a promising technique for efficient desalination. Although increasing efforts have been made, challenges exist for achieving a balance among a plethora of performance indicators—for example, rapid evaporation, durability, low-cost deployment, and salt rejection. We have demonstrated that carbonized agricultural waste can convert 98% of sunlight into heat, and the strong capillarity of porous carbon fibers networks pumps sufficient water to evaporation interfaces. Salt diffusion within microchannels enables quick salt drainage to the bulk seawater to prevent salt accumulation. These advantages, together with facial deployment, offer an approach for converting farm waste to energy with high efficiency and easy implementation, which is particularly well suited for developing regions.
About the Speaker
Professor Zheng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and Director of Nano Energy Laboratory at Northeastern University, and an elected Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE). He received his Ph.D. and M.S. from Columbia University and B.S. from the Tsinghua University, all in Mechanical Engineering. Prof. Zheng has secured external funding from diverse sources totaling over $4M including multiple federal agencies NSF, NIH, NASA, DARPA, ONR, US Air Force, as well as industrial funding from 3M, Mass Clean Energy Center, MassVentures, and ARCK Energy. Professor Zheng has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and has 5 issued US patents. Professor Zheng’s research interests fall in the areas of functional energy materials and sustainability technologies and he aims to address the growing global challenges in energy and water scarcity. His achievements are reflected in the prestigious honors and awards that he has received for his research, including the Fulbright Scholar Award, Raymond Viskanta Award, NSF CAREER Award, NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship, ASTFE Early Career Researcher Award, NIH RI-INBRE Early Career Development Award, Humboldt Research Fellowship, MassCEC AmplifyMass Award, Constantinos Mavroidis Research Award, Energies Young Investigator award, the Los Angeles Post’s Top Ten Outstanding Chinese Americans, the Massachusetts AAPI Commission’s Leadership for Inclusion and Diversity Award, the Witherspoon Institute’s International Education Leadership Award, the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award, and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Ten Outstanding Young Leaders Award.
Evening Program
6:00 p.m.: Arrival, Registration, and Networking Dinner
6:30 p.m.: Keynote Presentation: "Sustainable, Cost-effective Functional Materials for Passive Cooling and Water Treatment" by Prof. Yi Zheng 7:15 p.m.: Post-Presentation Social and Networking 8:00 p.m.: Adjourn Location & Directions
Boston University (BU) | Center for Computing and Data Sciences (CDS)
665 Commonwealth Ave, Boston MA 02215 | Rm. 1101 (11th Floor) Parking Directions 
|
Upcoming Events
November 19, 2026 | Prof. Yi Zheng
January TBD, 2027 | Jim Scutti, FASM February TBD, 2027 | Dr. Gavin Braithwaite Join Us
Discover how a global network of materials professionals is shaping the future. By joining ASM International, you gain access to collaborative research, cutting-edge design insights, and a community dedicated to maximizing the real-world value of metals and advanced materials. See where your expertise can take you.
Ready to connect? email us or join our mailing list! Partners & Sustaining Members
Empower your team and drive industry leadership by becoming a Sustaining Member of the Boston Chapter.
Through active participation in Boston Chapter programs, your team gain hands-on technical insights, build professional credentials, and cultivate leadership skills, all while helping shape the future of inovations and materials science. Discover what sustaining membership can do for your organization. Reach out to us via email to get started.
|
Registration