Bio
Dr. Kashif Nawaz earned his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Technology in Pakistan in 2007 and his MSc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in 2010 and 2013 respectively. After graduation, he joined the Heat Transfer Center of Excellence at Johnson Controls (JCI), where he worked as Senior Heat Transfer Engineer until 2016. During the same period, he also worked as adjunct faculty in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. In 2016 he joined the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he is currently working as a senior scientist in the Building Equipment Research Group with a joint appointment to the Bredesen Center at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. He also has been serving as sub-program manager for cross-sector technologies area for Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO).
Over the past fifteen years of active research and development work, Dr. Nawaz has established himself as a leader in fundamental and applied energy conversation science and technology. He is widely recognized for his work in different aspects of building heating, cooling, dehumidification systems including novel heat exchangers, enhanced phase change processes through the deployment of additive manufacturing, porous media and surface morphology, heat pump air and water heating, efficient separate sensible and latent cooling systems and emerging refrigerants. He has pioneered the development of a new generation of high-temperature heat exchangers manufactured with ceramics and composites using additive manufacturing. His research has led to the development of unique concepts for direct air capture of carbon dioxide using building infrastructure and high-temperature heat pumps for buildings and industrial decarbonization. He has been leading a program to develop high-temperature heat pumps for buildings and industrial decarbonization.
Dr. Nawaz has authored or co-authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications including journal articles, conference papers, and reports. He has more than 20 invention disclosures and seven patents on heat exchanger design and energy conversion processes. Dr. Nawaz is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). He is the recipient of the 2021 Exceptional Service Award and 2018 Distinguish Service Award by ASHRAE, JCI Excellence in Innovation during 2016, and the UIUC Alumni Teaching Fellow Award during 2011 and 2012. Dr. Nawaz has been awarded the prestigious R&D100 awards four times (2021, 2022, and twice during 2024). He has served as a reviewer for leading journals including the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, International Journal of Refrigeration, Energy, Applied Energy, Applied Thermal Engineering, Carbon, Applied Physics Letters, and Langmuir.
Awards
- Fellow American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (2024)
- Fellow American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2024)
- R&D 100 Award “MBE-DAC: Multifunctional Building Equipment for Direct Air Capture” (2024)
- R&D 100 Award “High-Efficiency Micro Combined Heat and Power Device” (2024)
- ASHRAE Crosby Field Award (2023)
- Knox.biz 40 under 40 Award (2023)
- R&D 100 Award “Ultraclean Condensing Gas Furnace” (2022)
- ASHRAE Exceptional Service Award (2022)
- ORNL Innovation Award (2021)
- R&D 100 Award “BIG-NET: Bis-aminoguanidine Negative Emission Technology” (2021)
- ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award (2018)
- Johnson Controls Inc. Merit Award for Excellence in Research and Innovation (2015)
- ASHRAE Graduate Student Grant-in-Aid Award (2011)
- University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Alumni Teaching Fellowship (2011 and 2012)
Education
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, 2013, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA
- M.S., Mechanical Engineering, 2010, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA
- BS, Mechanical Engineering, 2007, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Science and Technology, Pakistan
Professional Affiliations
ASHRAE
ASME
Trademarks and Patents
- US Patent App. 17/974,227, Multi-functional equipment for direct decarbonization with improved indoor air quality
- US Patent App. 17/974,232, Intensified carbon capture using building infrastructure.
- US Patent 11,633,789, Compliant heat exchangers, heat pipes and methods for making the same
- US Patent 17/890,791, Density-controlled phase-changing material (PCM) spheres for increased heating power and optimal delivery temperature in hot-water tanks
- US Patent 63/460,911, Conversion of liquid CO2