Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Maroo Awarded Grant to Cool Off Electronic Devices

Wednesday, August 15, 2018, By News Staff
Share
College of Engineering and Computer SciencefacultyResearch and CreativeSTEM

Anyone who has ever felt their laptop toast their lap or their smartphone suddenly become a hot potato in their hands can understand that electronics need a way to stay cool.

The more powerful our devices become, the more heat they generate. In fact, certain bleeding edge electronics are so reliant on cooling that they would stop working without it.

To continue to produce more powerful electronics, there needs to be a significant advance in how we keep them cool. And, we’re running out of practical cooling solutions needed to develop next-generation electronic devices.

This summer, Associate Professor Shalabh Maroo  in the College of Engineering and Computer Science received a $500,000 grant from Office of Naval Research to conduct new research on exactly that.

Q. Why do laptops and phones get so hot?

A. No electronic device can be 100 percent efficient. It isn’t physically possible. Take smartphones for example. We cannot convert all of the battery’s electrical energy into powering the phone. The extra energy becomes heat. Hence, all electronic devices become hot and we need a way to remove that heat.

Q. Why is thermal management so crucial to developing new technology?

A. With new fabrication technology, billions of transistors can be built into a single chip processor. That creates a tremendous amount of heat during operation. New tech will generate more heat than it can withstand.

In this work, the size of a processor’s surface area becomes very important. Certain powerful new processors generate as much as 10 watts of heat per square-centimeter of area. That may seem small, but it is a big deal by comparison. A clothes iron generates just 5 watts of heat per square-centimeter of area and reaches a surface temperature of over 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Further, very localized spots in the processor can even generate heat over 100 or 1,000 watts per square-centimeter of area.

Plus, we want to make our processors smaller and smaller. Removing 10 or 100 or 1,000 watts of heat from a square-centimeter of area is far more challenging than removing the same amount of heat from a square-meter of area. Advancements in cooling techniques are thus essential.

Q. What is your approach with your research, Phase Change in High-Density Confined Liquids for Thermal Management?

A. Our research aims to understand and develop a thermal technology which can provide cooling of more than 1,000 watts per square-centimeter of area while also keeping the device’s temperature within an operational range. The fundamental research aims to investigate phase change heat transfer in liquid-filled small-sized micro/nano channels using experiments, molecular dynamics simulations, and continuum simulations.

Such a cooling technology could possibly assist in the development of terahertz processors which could be 1,000 times faster than the current gigahertz processors.

Q. This is a significant amount of funding. How does this fit into your lab’s mission?

A. We are very excited! The research contributions of An Zou, a research assistant professor, and Manish Gupta, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student, helped bring this grant to our lab. Together, we aim to understand the fundamentals of phase change heat transfer in small channels through this research work. We hope our work will shape the development of a cooling technology which can significantly advance thermal management of electronics.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan
    Friday, August 1, 2025, By News Staff
  • Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By Jordan Bruenger
  • Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • After Tragedy, Newhouse Grad Rediscovers Her Voice Through Podcasting
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Chris Velardi
  • Back-to-School Shopping: More Expensive and Less Variety of Back-to-School Items
    Tuesday, July 29, 2025, By Daryl Lovell

More In STEM

New Study Reveals Ozone’s Hidden Toll on America’s Trees

A new nationwide study reveals that ozone pollution—an invisible threat in the air—may be quietly reducing the survival chances of many tree species across the United States. The research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres is the first…

Inspiring the Next Generation of STEM Enthusiasts

A friendly competition is brewing in the corner of a basement classroom in Link Hall during the annual STEM Trekkers summer program, where students are participating in a time-honored ritual: seeing who can build a paper airplane that travels the…

5 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Use Generative Artificial Intelligence at Work

Not too long ago, generative artificial intelligence (AI) might’ve sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie. Now it’s here, and it’s ready to help you write emails, schedule meetings and even create presentations. In a recent Information Technology Services…

NSF I-Corps Semiconductor and Microelectronics Free Virtual Course Being Offered

University researchers with groundbreaking ideas in semiconductors, microelectronics or advanced materials are invited to apply for an entrepreneurship-focused hybrid course offered through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The free virtual course runs from Sept. 15 through…

Jianshun ‘Jensen’ Zhang Named Interim Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is excited to announce that Professor Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang has been appointed interim department chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE), as of July 1, 2025. Zhang serves as executive director of…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.