Baratunde A. Cola
| |
|---|---|
| Born | (1981-03-17) March 17, 1981 (age 43) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Vanderbilt University Purdue University |
| Awards | 2017 - Alan T. Waterman Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering |
| Institutions | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Baratunde A. Cola (born March 17, 1981) is a scientist and engineer specializing in carbon nanotube technology.
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]
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]
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]
