Sajjad Bigham

Associate Professor

Dr. Sajjad Bigham is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University. Before joining NC State, he was the Lou and Herbert Wacker Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering–Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Tech University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida. He directs the Energy-X Lab (Energy eXploration Laboratory) at NC State University.

He is a heat transfer and energy systems specialist interested in scientific and engineering challenges at the intersection of thermal fluid, material, and energy sciences. Our lab, Energy-X (www.energyX-lab.com), is focused on understanding the fundamental transport science of important energy carriers at micro, nano, and molecular scales. We design, fabricate, and examine various meso-, micro-, and nano-devices/systems to understand their underlying physics and explore new technologies and performance breakthroughs.

Energy-X mission: Energy-X is a research group specializing in energy science and technology. The increasing global demand for energy has stimulated intense research on energy conversion and storage systems. The mission of our lab is to improve energy efficiency, reliability, and economy of the process, component, or system X; with X being our target technological area which spans from the energy sector to defense and environmental applications.

Research Interests

  • Heat Transfer and Thermal Management
  • Thermal Energy Systems
  • Multiphase Flows and Phase-change Phenomena
  • Physics of Boiling and Condensation Heat Transfer at Microscale
  • Interfacial Transport Phenomena at Extreme Temperatures and Pressures
  • HVAC&R Systems
  • Desalination Systems
  • Micro- and Nano-engineered Materials
  • Energy Conversion and Storage Devices

Education

DegreeProgramSchoolYear
Ph.D.Doctorate of Philosophy in Mechanical EngineeringUniversity of Florida

Publications

3D-printed monolithic zeolite structures for terrestrial decarbonization and space life support systems
Agata, N., Cesarano, J., Richardson, T.-M. J., & Bigham, S. (2026, August 10), Chemical Engineering Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.179476
A multi-fidelity global search framework for surface temperature control in a 3D thermal design space
Sadeghi, M., Keramati, H., & Bigham, S. (2026, February 20), International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2026.110875
In-Situ Precipitation of Silver Chloride on Alumina Porous Lattices for Potable Water Disinfection
Fanourakis, S. K., Swavely, A. C., Richardson, T.-M. J., Flynn, M., Delzeit, L., Cesarano, J., … Bigham, S. (2026, July 12). , . https://doi.org/10.32865/2346/108771
Performance Characterization of 3D-printed zeolite-13X Gyroid Topologies for Carbon Dioxide Management Systems
Agata, N. H., Richardson, T.-M. J., & Bigham, S. (2026, July 12). , . https://doi.org/10.32865/2346/108751
Structured Wick Condensing Heat Exchangers for Space Life Support Systems
Swavely, A. C., Cesarano, J., Chullen, C., Ogilvie, R., Barrett, L. W., Richardson, T.-M. J., & Bigham, S. (2026, July 12). , . https://doi.org/10.32865/2346/109139
Tailored flow condensation of low surface tension fluids via additively manufactured gradient wick structures
Ghosh, D. P., Mohan, V. M., Shaeri, M. R., & Bigham, S. (2026, February 26), International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2026.128596
3D-Printed Condensers With Gradient Wick Structures to Enhance Filmwise Condensation
Shaeri, M. R., Bigham, S., Mohan, V. M., & Demydovych, M. (2025, October 28). , . https://doi.org/10.1115/ipack2025-163657
3D-printed converging wick flow condensers for low surface-tension fluids: Modeling and experiment
Ahmadi, B., Saple, J., Shaeri, M. R., & Bigham, S. (2025, August 29), International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2025.127754
Accelerating Decarbonization via Tailored Zeolitic Monoliths: Insights into the Interfacial Physics of the Carbon Dioxide Adsorption Process
Patil, C. A., Agata, N., Cesarano, J., Richardson, T.-M. J., & Bigham, S. (2025, February 10), ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c16898
Additively Manufactured Stacked Refrigerant-toWater Condenser
Shaeri, M. R., Bigham, S., Mohan, V., & Demydovych, M. (2025, May 27). , . https://doi.org/10.1109/itherm55376.2025.11235620

View all publications via NC State Libraries

Sajjad Bigham