Massoud Kaviany

Massoud Kaviany
Born	1948 (age 76–77) Tehran, Iran
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	University of Illinois Chicago (B.S., M.S.) University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D.)
Known for	Heat transfer physics; heat transfer in porous media
Spouse	Mitra Kaviany (m. 1985)
Children	Saara Kaviany, Parisa Kaviany
Scientific career
Fields	Mechanical engineering, Applied physics
Institutions	University of Michigan
Doctoral advisor	R. A. Seban
Other academic advisors	J. P. Hartnett
Website	Faculty page

Massoud Kaviany is an Iranian-American mechanical engineer who has worked on heat transfer fundamentals, heat transfer physics, and multiscale energy-transport phenomena. He is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Applied Physics Program at the University of Michigan. ^[1]

Early life and education

Kaviany was born in 1948 in Tehran, Iran, and moved to the United States in 1968. He earned a B.S. (1973) and M.S. (1974) in energy engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago. ^[1] He completed his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in 1979 under the supervision of R. A. Seban. ^[1]

Career

Following his doctorate, Kaviany worked as a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 1979 to 1980. In 1981, he joined the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee as an assistant professor, becoming associate professor in 1985. He moved to the University of Michigan in 1986, where he became full professor in 1992. ^{[2] [3]}

Research

Phonon transport

Kaviany's work on lattice vibrations addresses phonon scattering, mean free paths, and thermal conductivity in crystalline and amorphous solids, with applications to thermoelectric materials. He advanced a "phonovoltaic" concept, a p–n junction capable of converting hot optical phonons into electrical power, and introduced "phonocatalysis," in which atomic-scale vibrations drive molecular dissociation at surfaces. ^{[4] [5]}

His group also carried measurements of thermal conductivity in metal–organic frameworks, supported by classical molecular-dynamics simulation. ^[6]

Electron transport and energy conversion

Kaviany has conducted parallel investigations into electronic transport, electron–phonon coupling, and nanoscale heat transfer, particularly for thermoelectric devices and micro–thermoelectric coolers. Contributions include a melting-induced thermal-conductivity switch, analysis of interflake thermal conductance of graphene, and the concept of heterobarrier phonon recycling. ^[7]

Fluid–particle transport and phase change

His work has informed water management in fuel-cell electrolyte layers, boiling and critical heat flux, and the enhancement of thermal conductance using porous coatings. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Teaching, books, and mentoring

• Principles of Heat Transfer in Porous Media (Springer, 1991; 2nd ed., 1995) ^[11]
• Principles of Convective Heat Transfer (Springer, 1994; 2nd ed., 2001)
• Principles of Heat Transfer (Wiley, 2001), later republished as Essentials of Heat Transfer (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
• Heat Transfer Physics (Cambridge University Press, 2008; 2nd ed., 2014) ^[5]

Honors and awards

• Life Time Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (1992) ^[12]
• ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award (Science) (2002) ^[13]
• ASME James Harry Potter Gold Medal (2010) ^[14]
• ASME Heat Transfer Division 75th Anniversary Medal (2013) ^[15]
• Fellow, American Physical Society (2011) ^[16]
• Fellow, American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (2020) ^[17]

References

1. "Massoud Kaviany". University of Michigan. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
2. Discuss, D_o_S (2007-06-21). "Asetek signs research agreement with Professor Massoud Kaviany". TechPowerUp. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
3. "Massoud Kaviany | U-M LSA Applied Physics Program". lsa.umich.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
4. Melnick, Corey; Kaviany, Massoud (2016). "Phonovoltaic. I. Harvesting hot optical phonons in a nanoscale p -n junction". Physical Review B. 93 (9). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.93.094302. ISSN   0163-1829.
5. Kaviany, Massoud (2014). Heat Transfer Physics. Cambridge University Press.
6. Huang, B. L.; McGaughey, A. J. H.; Kaviany, M. (2007-02-01). "Thermal conductivity of metal-organic framework 5 (MOF-5): Part I. Molecular dynamics simulations" . International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. 50 (3): 393–404. doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2006.10.002. ISSN   0017-9310.
7. Kim, Kwangnam; Kaviany, Massoud (2016-10-17). "Thermal conductivity switch: Optimal semiconductor/metal melting transition". Physical Review B. 94 (15). doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.94.155203. ISSN   2469-9950.
8. Kaviany, Massoud (2001), Kaviany, Massoud (ed.), "Fluid Streams in Two-Phase Systems", Principles of Convective Heat Transfer, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 135–178, doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-3488-1_3, ISBN   978-1-4757-3488-1
9. Kaviany, Massoud (2001), Kaviany, Massoud (ed.), "Solid-Fluid Systems with Large Specific Interfacial Area", Principles of Convective Heat Transfer, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 349–415, doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-3488-1_5, ISBN   978-1-4757-3488-1
10. Huang, Bao-Ling; Kaviany, Massoud (2008). "Ab initio and molecular dynamics predictions for electron and phonon transport in bismuth telluride". Physical Review B. 77 (12) 125209. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.77.125209. ISSN   1098-0121.
11. Kaviany, Massoud (1995). Principles of Heat Transfer in Porous Media. Springer. ISBN   978-1-4757-3488-1.
12. "Kaviany Receives ASME Gold Medal". University of Michigan. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
13. "Heat Transfer Memorial Award". www.asme.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
14. "James Harry Potter Gold Medal". www.asme.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
15. "THERMAL AND FLUIDS ENGINEERING CONFERENCE" (PDF). ASTFE.
16. "Essentials of Heat Transfer" (PDF). assets.cambridge.org.
17. "American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE)". www.astfe.org. Retrieved 2025-12-17.