Related News for Yi Zheng

Zheng Selected as 2025 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was selected as a 2025 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow, a 10-week residential research program, to work on advanced energy and power systems for space applications.

Zheng Selected as One of Most-Read Authors of Advanced Engineering Materials

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng’s paper “Biomass‐Based Materials for Sustainably Sourced Solar‐Driven Interfacial Steam Generation” which was published in Advanced Engineering Materials, was ranked within the top 10% of most-viewed papers published by the journal.

Developing New Ways To Control Heat Flow

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng’s Nano Energy Laboratory, in collaboration with Mauro Antezza’s Theoretical Physics Group at the Université de Montpellier in Montpellier, France, published their research on “Flexible Tuning of Asymmetric Near-Field Radiative Thermal Transistor by Utilizing Distinct Phase-Change Materials,” as a featured article in Applied Physics Letters.

Zheng Receives ASME Rising Star Award

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng received an ASME Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering Award in recognition of his NSF CAREER award in “Nanoscale Radiative Heat Transfer for Enhanced Thermal Infrared Energy Conversion and Cooling.”

Shaping the Future With Clean Tech

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng participated as a panelist at the Climate Beacon 2024 conference. Zheng, who is also the founder of Planck Energies, a spinout company from his lab at Northeastern, discussed how advanced materials and clean technologies are making a positive impact on the environment and climate change.

Rethinking Solar-Driven Evaporation

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng published his research on “Critical Assessment of Water Enthalpy Characterization Through Dark Environment Evaporation,” in Science Advances.

Zheng Selected for Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40

Yi Zheng, MIE associate professor and founder of Planck Energies, has been named a 2024 “40 Under 40” honoree by the Boston Business Journal. Zheng was selected from over 300 nominees in the greater Boston area for his excellence in academics, business leadership, and community service.

Reversing Global Warming Effects With Cooling Paint

Through his startup, Planck Energies, MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng is developing a cooling paint that reflects heat waves away from and draws existing heat out of buildings. It could reduce carbon emissions and electricity usage by reducing the need for air conditioning.

Innovating Hydrogen Fuel Cells

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng received a research grant of $208,957 to work on “Innovative Hybrid PEM Hydrogen Fuel Cell” from THETA LLC of Fall River, Massachusetts. The project studies the biomimetic hybrid hydrogen fuel cell as a practical alternative, addressing key barriers to widespread adoption.

Zheng Wins 2024 Raymond Viskanta Award

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng is the recipient of the 2024 Raymond Viskanta Award, one of the highest honors for faculty in the field of radiative heat transfer. He received the award at the 5th International Workshop on Nano-Micro Thermal Radiation (NanoRad 2024) in Japan.

Forum on Sustainable Energy in Cities and Communities Celebrates World Environment Day

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng moderated a forum on the impact of innovative technology in achieving efficient energy use and reducing carbon emissions at the Boston Urban Forum, which hosted the event to celebrate World Environment Day.

$1M Air Force Award To Harness Solar and Thermal Energy for Spacecrafts

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng, in collaboration with Faraday Technology Inc., received a $1 million research grant from the U.S. Air Force, for a “Concentric Ultra-Dark Solar-Thermal Absorber and Metasurface Thermal Emitter for Thermophotovoltaic Power Conversion.”

Zheng Receives Leadership for Inclusion and Diversity Award

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng received the 2024 Leadership for Inclusion and Diversity Award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Asian American Pacific Islanders Commission, which recognized him “as an exceptional leader who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fostering inclusivity and diversity.”

Zheng Selected as 2024 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was selected as a NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow. He will collaborate on a NASA project about the highly efficient Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) during the summer of 2024.

Faculty and Staff Awards 2024

The College of Engineering recognized faculty and staff at the annual faculty and staff awards event and thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication in support of our students, college, and university during the 2023-2024 academic year. View award recipients and photo gallery.

Zheng Receives Energies 2023 Young Investigator Award

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng received the Energies 2023 Young Investigator Award. Zheng leads a growing research group focusing on nanoenergy in multiple disciplines, including materials science, physics, and engineering. […]

Zheng Selected as ASME Fellow

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was selected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) for his exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession, particularly in the research field of micro/nanoscale heat transfer for sustainable energy harvesting, conversion, and storage.

Planck Energies Is Revolutionizing Cooling Technology

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng is developing more practical passive cooling products to combat the negative effects of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He received a Spark Fund award from Northeastern’s Center for Research Innovation for this work.

Zheng Selected as NECAA Scientist of the Year

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was selected as “Scientist of the Year” by the New England Chinese American Alliance. The award recognizes Zheng’s research contributions to the field of renewable and sustainable energy as an outstanding Asian American researcher and scholar.

Developing Eco-Friendly Cooling Solutions

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng’s spinout from his lab at Northeastern, Planck Energies, has received a $275,000 NSF grant for “Climate-Eco-friendly Biocoating for Passive Cooling of Infrastructure.”

Eco-Friendly Passive Cooling With Recycled Packaging Plastics

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng’s research group Nano Energy Laboratory published their research on “Oil-Paper-Umbrella-Inspired Passive Radiative Cooling Using Recycled Packaging Foam” in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A and “Eco-friendly Passive Radiative Cooling Using Recycled Packaging Plastics” in Materials Today Sustainability.

Pioneering Sustainable Solutions in Clean Energy

Planck Energies, founded by MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng, is a clean-energy startup that is developing cutting-edge renewable energy solutions for commercial and residential environments.

Spring 2023 Spark Fund Awardees

MIE Associate Professor Randal Erb, ChE/BioE Associate Professor Eno Ebong, ChE Professor Rebecca Carrier, and MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng are recipients of the Spring 2023 Spark Fund Awards from Northeastern’s Center for Research Innovation.

Top 100 in Materials Science – 2022

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng’s research on “Dome-Arrayed Chitosan/PVA Hydrogel-based Solar Evaporator for Steam Generation” was featured as one of the top 100 downloaded material science articles by Scientific Reports.

2023 Acorn Innovation Awards

ECE Assistant Professor Sarah Ostadabbas, Professor Deniz Erdogmus, and MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng received MassVentures Acorn Innovation Awards to assist them in testing the viability of their technologies and potentially bringing their research to market.

Zheng Receives ASTFE Early Career Researcher Award

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was awarded the inaugural American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE) Early Career Researcher Award for his significant contributions to the field of Thermal and Fluids Engineering.

Zheng Receives State Recognition for Contributions to Sustainability and Clean Technology

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was recognized by the Massachusetts House of Representatives for his “Outstanding Contributions to Sustainability and Clean Technology”.

This Inorganic Fiber-based Paper Passively Cools Buildings, Vehicles and Much More

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng’s research on “This Inorganic Fiber-based Paper Passively Cools Buildings, Vehicles and Much More” was featured in the October 2022 issue of the Chemical Engineering magazine.

Zheng Receives Certificate of Recognition From Boston Mayor

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was presented a Certificate of Recognition signed by the Mayor of the City of Boston Michelle Wu for recognition of his commitment and dedication to serving the Asian Community and beyond.

The Future of Greener Roofing Material With Cooling Paper

MIE Professor Yi Zheng is developing passive cooling paper in designing more efficient roofing materials. He received a Spark Fund award from Northeastern’s Center for Research Innovation for this work.

Developing High-Performance System to Harvest Solar and Thermal Energy

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng, in collaboration with Faraday Technology Inc., received a $150k research grant from the U.S. Air Force to create “Concentric Ultra-Dark Solar-Thermal Absorber and Metasurface Thermal Emitter for Thermophotovoltaic Power Conversion.”

Six Engineering Spinouts Selected as Eddies Finalists

Six spinout companies that were created by engineering faculty have been selected as finalists for the Massachusetts Innovation Network’s innovation competition, The Eddies. Every year, the Massachusetts Innovation Network hosts […]

Startup Developed From Cooling Paper Research

MIE Professor Yi Zheng and Andrew Caratenuto, PhD’24, mechanical engineering, created the startup company Planck Energies to develop a cooling paper they designed that could reduce cooling needs. Northeastern researchers […]

Zheng Receives 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng has been selected to receive the prestigious 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award from 3M Corporation. This competitive award recognizes outstanding young faculty who were nominated by […]

Nano Energy Lab Receives ASTFE Honorary Recognition

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng’s research group (Nano Energy Laboratory) attended the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE) 7th annual Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference to present topics ranging from ocean biomass-based energy functional material to photonic metamaterial to magnetic manipulation of nanoscale thermal transport.

High-Efficiency Radiant Energy Transfer

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng, in collaboration with industrial partner Faraday Technology, Inc. in Ohio, was awarded a $250K DARPA SBIR grant for “Near-field thermophotovoltaic system with nanostructured absorber/emitter for high-efficiency radiant energy transfer.”

Designing a Solar-Driven Water Desalination System

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was awarded a $250K NSF grant to develop a “Solar Evaporator-Based High-Efficiency Water Desalination System.”

Fall 2021 Spark Fund Awardees

BioE Professor Jeff Ruberti, ECE Assistant Professor Aatmesh Shrivastava, ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston, and MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng are recipients of Spark Fund Awards, which help Northeastern researchers bridge the gap between promising lab results and demonstrating a commercially viable prototype.