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Baratunde A. Cola

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baratunde A. Cola
Born (1981-03-17) March 17, 1981 (age 43)
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

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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

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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

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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

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  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.