Baratunde A. Cola

Baratunde A. Cola
Born (1981-03-17) March 17, 1981 (age 43)
Detroit, Michigan
NationalityAmerican
Alma materVanderbilt University
Purdue University
Awards2017 - Alan T. Waterman Award
Scientific career
FieldsMaterials Science and Mechanical Engineering
InstitutionsGeorgia Institute of Technology

Baratunde A. Cola (born March 17, 1981) is a scientist and engineer specializing in carbon nanotube technology.

Education

Cola was born in Detroit, Michigan but was raised and schooled in Pensacola, Florida. He attended Vanderbilt University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in mechanical engineering in 2002 and a Master of Science in mechanical engineering degree in 2004. While an undergraduate he was also starting fullback for the Vanderbilt Commodores football team.[1]

After Vanderbilt Cola took his PhD, awarded in 2008, in mechanical engineering at Purdue University under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Fisher.[1]

Research areas

Cola was involved in the founding of the NanoEngineered Systems and Transport Lab and Heat Lab at Georgia Institute of Technology,[2] where he is an associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering.[2] For 2015–6 he was a Martin Luther King Jr. visiting professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3] Specializing in carbon nanotube technology, Cola led the team who demonstrated the first optical rectenna.[4] In addition he is involved in research into the development of thermo-electrochemical cells that produce electricity from waste heat.[5]

Cola was a co-founder of the Academic and Research Leadership Network which supports and provides networking resources minority engineering researchers.[6]

Cola is also the founder of the technology company Carbice Corporation.[7]

Awards

Cola has won a number of awards including the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for his work in nanotechnology and also his outreach work with high schools,[8] the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science,[9] 2015 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer[10] and most recently the 2017 National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman Award.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Professor Baratunde Cola". Georgia Institute of Technology, NanoEngineered Systems and Transport. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Baratunde Cola". Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  3. ^ "Baratunde Cola, Mechanical Engineering". MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars Program.
  4. ^ "Carbon nanotube rectenna directly converts light into electricity". Chemistry World. September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  5. ^ "Alan T. Waterman Award 2017". National Science Foundation. July 25, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  6. ^ "Baratunde A. Cola, Carbice Nanotechnologies, Inc". Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "Carbice Corporation". Georgia Research Alliance. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  8. ^ "The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: Recipient Details". National Science Foundation. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  9. ^ "Baratunde Cola Receives 2012 AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science". AAAS. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "NSF recognizes double ME alum with Waterman Award". Vanderbilt School of Engineering. April 20, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.