2/4/2015
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David Cahill, Willet Professor and Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Illinois, has been selected to receive the 2015 Yeram S. Touloukian Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is receiving the award "for sustained, pioneering contributions to heat conduction metrology including the 3-omega and optical pump-probe methods, which are pervasive in laboratories worldwide; and for landmark contributions on the minimum and ultralow thermal conductivity of solids."
The Touloukian Award is given every three years in recognition of outstanding technical contributions in the field of thermophysical properties. It is named for Yeram Touloukian, a Purdue University professor who was world-renowned for his work in thermophysics. Formal presentation of the award will take place during the 19th Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 21-26, in Boulder, CO. Recipients receive a bronze medal, certificate and travel expenses. At the symposium, Cahill will give the plenary talk, "Ultrafast heat transfer in nanoscale materials."
Cahill received his B.S. in engineering physics from Ohio State University and his Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University in 1989. His doctoral work concerned lattice vibrations of disordered solids. Before joining the faculty at Illinois, he worked at IBM Watson Research Center where he conducted research on metal-semiconductor interfaces. His current research program focuses on developing a microscopic understanding of thermal transport at the nanoscale; the development of new methods of materials processing and analysis using ultrafast optical techniques; and advancing fundamental understanding of interfaces between materials and water. He has over 250 publications.
Cahill is a Fellow of the Materials Research Society (2012), American Physical Society (2005), and American Vacuum Society (1998).