Research Areas
Phase Change Materials, Shape Memory Alloys, Vanadium Dioxide, Smart Functional Materials,Thermal Management, Thermal Energy Harvesting & Storage, Thermochromic Smart Window
Education
- Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany (2012–2017)
- M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Science, China (2007–2010)
- B.S. in Inorganic Nonmetallic Materials Engineering, Central South University, China (2003–2007)
Publications
- N. Liu,* L. Saure, R. Sriramdas, K. Wang, A. Nozariasbmarz, Y. Zhang, F. Schütt, R. Adelung, R. Baughman, S. Priya, W. Li,* B. Poudel,* “Underwater Thermoacoustic Generation by a Hierarchical Tetrapodal Carbon Nanotube Networks”, ACS Nano, 18, 8988–8995 (2024)
- S. Singh,* N. Liu, Y. Zhang, A. Nozariasbmarz,* S. K, Karan, L. Raman, G.K. Goyal, S. Sharma, W. Li, S. Priya, B. Poudel,* “High-performance Thermomagnetic Gd-Si-Ge Alloys”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 15, 35140–35148 (2023)
- Tomé Guenka, Reginald Hamilton, Christopher Greer, Sven Bilén, Na Liu, Bed Poudel, Alexander Rattner, Ryan Overdorff, Bilal Bomani, William Sixel, “Additive Manufacturing and Experimental Characterization of Nickel-Titanium Shape-Memory Alloy Wick Structures and Heat Pipes for Spacecraft Thermal Control”, Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop (2024)
- N. Liu, M. Acosta, S. Wang, B. Xu, R. W. Stark, C. Dietz, “Revealing the core-shell interactions of a giant strain relaxor ferroelectric 0.75Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3–0.25SrTiO3”, Scientific Reports, 6, 36910 (2016)
- N. Liu, R. Dittmer, R. W. Stark,* C. Dietz,* “Visualization of polar nanoregions in lead-free relaxors via piezoresponse force microscopy in torsional dual AC resonance tracking mode”, Nanoscale, 7, 11789–11796 (2015)
- R. Amaral, N. Liu, B. Poudel, W. Li, Z. Liu, “Ab-initio CALPHAD modeling of NaNH2BH3 for solid-state H2 storage applications”, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 166, 150807 (2025)
Funding
Current Grants
- 2025-2026 COSM Collaborative Grant Initiative, “Microstructure-Engineered VO2 for Advanced Thermochromic Smart Windows” PI
Previous Grants
- MRI Seed Grant-Penn State, “Towards Green Ironmaking: Unravel the Nanostructural Origins of the Rate-limiting Steps in the Hydrogen-based Reduction of Iron Ore”, Co-PI
- IEE Seed Grant-Penn State, “Additive Manufacturing of Elastocaloric Cooling Shape Memory Alloy: From Materials and Device Fabrication to System-level Analysis for High-Performance Buildings”, Co-PI
Research Projects
Vanadium Dioxide for Thermal Control
Engineering vanadium dioxide–based phase change materials via doping and microstructural design to tailor transformation temperatures and reduce hysteresis for adaptive thermal management in defense and aerospace applications.
Vanadium Dioxide for Smart Windows
Development of microstructure-engineered and doped vanadium dioxide thin films with enhanced visible transparency and solar modulation to create energy-efficient thermochromic smart windows for sustainable building applications.
High-Temperature Shape Memory Alloys
Design and development of high-temperature shape memory alloys through compositional tuning and advanced processing to achieve stable phase transformations and high recoverable strain for aerospace actuation and thermal energy conversion systems.
News
Research Group
Undergraduate Students
New group-Looking for the motivated students to join
Graduate Students
New group-Looking for the motivated students to join.
Postdocs
New group-Looking for the motivated students to join.