School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Faculty
Robert F. Richards
Education
- Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 1990
- M.S. in Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 1987
- B.A. in Physics, The University of Chicago, 1980
Professional Preparation
- NIST/ASEE Postdoctoral Fellow, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 1990 – 1992
Research Interests
- Heat Transfer across Nanoparticles
- Thermal Switching
- Very Low Cost Thermal and Fluid Experiments for Education
- TrashWall: Very Low Cost Energy Retrofits via Recycled Materials
Research Areas
Selected Publications
Complete List of Publications on Google Scholar
- M. Elsahati, K. Clarke, R. Richards, Thermal conductivity of copper and silica nanoparticle packed beds, Intl. Comm. Heat Mass Trans., Vol 71, 96-100, DOI 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2015.12.034, 2016.
- A. Alsiadi, I. Arzaga, J. Bowe, J. Bolin, H. Englehardt, F. Felix, D. Lopez-Nava, E. Mena-Salgado, N. Rajakumar, L. Summers, T. Miyasaka, R.Richards, The TrashWall Project, USA Science and Engineering Festival, Washington D.C., April 15-17, 2016.
- Robert Richards, Shamus Fanhe Meng, Bernard van Wie, Franco Spadoni, Angelo Ivory, “MAKER: Very Low-cost Experiments via 3-D Printing and Vacuum Forming,” ASEE2015, Seattle, WA, June. 14-17, 2015.
- Shamus Fanhe Meng, Franco Spadoni, Angelo Ivory, Robert Richards, “Very Low Cost Thermofluid Experiments via Vacuum Formed Plastic Hardware for Active Learning in the Classroom, iCEER2014, Hamilton, Ontario, Aug. 23-26, 2014.
- R.F. Richards, “Low-Cost, Hands-On Thermal and Fluid Experiments,” Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium, National Academy of Engineering, Irvine, CA, Oct. 27-30, 2013.
- H. Lee, C.D. Richards, R.F. Richards, “Experimental and Numerical Study of Microchannel Heater/Evaporators for Thermal Phase-Change Actuators”, Sensors and Actuators A, DOI 10.1016/j.sna.2013.02.004, 2013.
- A. Hamdan, F. Sahli, R Richards and C Richards, “Characterization of a dielectric microdroplet thermal interface material with dispersed nanoparticles”, J. Nanoparticle Res., Vol. 14, no 9, DOI 10.1007/s11051-012-111-1, 2012.
- L. W. Weiss, C.D. Richards, R.F. Richards, “Power output and force generation by a MEMS phase change actuator”, JMEMS, vol. 20, no. 6. Dec., 2011.
- A Hamdan, R Richards and C Richards, “Characterization of a liquid-metal microdroplets thermal interface material”, Experimental and Thermal Fluid Science, DOI: 0.1016/j.expthermflusci.2011.04.012, 2011.
- A.R. McLanahan, C. Richards, R. Richards, “A dielectric liquid contact thermal switch with electrowetting actuation”, J. Micromechanics and Microengineering, 21, 104009, 2011.