Baratunde Cola, an associate professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer from the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME).

The award is given to a young engineer who is under 36 years of age and has received a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in engineering. The individual must be committed to pursuing research in heat transfer, and must have demonstrated the potential to make significant contributions to the field of heat transfer.

Cola's research is focused on fabricating and exploring the properties of nanostructured surfaces and interfaces to enhanced energy transport and conversion, improve heat transfer characteristics, and enable MEMS and nanotechnology devices. He is particularly interested in investigating energy transport through interfaces and nanosized contacts, which are ubiquitous in nanostructured devices.

Established by the Heat Transfer Division in 2003, the award was funded through the efforts of Arthur Bergles and Warren Rohsenow who are well known for their accomplishments in heat transfer research and for their mentoring of young researchers.