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Andrew Sommers
Professor
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Andrew Sommers, Ph.D.

Contact Info

513-529-0718
Garland Hall, 56 S

Education

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 2007
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 2003
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 2001

Research Interests

  • Air-side heat transfer
  • Micro-fluids

Research Bio

Dr. Andrew Sommers is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

He earned his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in 2007, his M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois in 2003, and his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Clemson University in 2001.

He also spent approximately one year working as a process co-op engineer at Celanese Acetate in Narrows, VA. Since entering academia, he has also spent significant time working as a researcher at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH on thermal management related issues within the Aerospace Systems Directorate.

Dr. Sommers’ research primarily deals with air-side heat transfer and the impact of surface wettability on condensate retention, frost growth, and heat transfer performance in HVAC&R systems. His current research interests also include micro-fabrication and surface coating techniques, wind turbine ice mitigation, gas turbine systems, and the use of surface tension gradients to facilitate water droplet movement in preferred directions on surfaces.

He has authored or co-authored more than 75 archival journal articles and conference proceedings and has had his research funded by the American Chemical Society (ACS), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), California Energy Commission, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). In 2022, Andrew helped to co-author an article that was selected for the front cover of Chemical Reviews (2021 IF = 72.09). In 2020, Andrew was awarded the CEC Outstanding Faculty Research Award by the College of Engineering and Computing.

In 2017, his conference paper on frost layer densification received the Best Research Paper Award at the 2nd Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference sponsored by the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE). In 2012, Andrew was awarded the Arthur Olson Generational Teaching Excellence Award by the College of Engineering and Computing, and in 2008, he was awarded the ASHRAE New Investigator Award.

He primarily teaches courses in the thermal-fluids area including Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, and Thermodynamics I and II.

Years of Service on this Faculty

  • Professor, 2021-present
  • Associate Professor, 2013-2021
  • Assistant Professor, 2007-2013

Related Experience

  • Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship (AFRL/ASEE), Propulsion Directorate, WPAFB, OH, Summer 2008, Summer 2009.
  • MechSE Teaching Fellow – Mechanical Science and Engineering Department, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, Spring 2007.
  • Research / Teaching Assistant – Mechanical Science and Engineering Department, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 2001—2007.
  • Process Engineering Co-op – Hoechst-Celanese/Celanese Acetate Corp., Narrows, VA, Summer 1997, Spring 1998, Fall 1998.

Scientific and Professional Societies

  • ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  • ASHRAE - American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, & Air-Conditioning Engineers

Honors and Awards

  • ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ Rapid Investment Program (RAPID) Grant, 2022-2023
  • CEC Outstanding Faculty Research Award, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ, 2020
  • ASTFE Best Research Paper Award, 2nd Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2017
  • ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ Committee on Faculty Research Award, 2012-2013
  • Arthur Olson Generational Teaching Excellence Award, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ, 2012
  • ASHRAE New Investigator Award, 2008-2009
  • ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ Committee on Faculty Research Award, 2008-2009
  • UIUC MechSE Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Spring 2007

Institutional and Professional Service

¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ (Selected examples)

  • Director, Thermal-Fluids Laboratory, 2007-present.
  • Chair, MME Promotion & Tenure Committee, 2023-present
  • Member, CEC Curriculum Committee, 2018-present
  • Member, MME Graduate Program Committee, 2022-present.
  • Alternate Member, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ Graduate Council, 2022-present
  • Member, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ Graduate Council, 2016-2022
  • Member, MU Provost Academic Excellence Strategic Planning Subcommittee, 2018-2019
  • Chair, MME Faculty Search Committee, 2013-2014.
  • Member, MME/ECE-ENT Committee, 2012-2015.
  • Judge and Panel Member, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈ Interdisciplinary Technology Development Challenge (MUITDC), 2008-2012.

National

  • ASTFE 2nd Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference, Panel on Thermo-Fluid Education, Las Vegas, NV, April 4, 2017, Speaker.
  • University of Cincinnati Graduate Seminar Presentation, March 2016.
  • ASHRAE Winter Conference, Paper Session 9, Orlando, FL, January 25, 2016, Speaker.
  • ASHRAE Annual Conference, Seminar 5, Denver, CO, June 23, 2013, Seminar Speaker.
  • 14th International Heat Transfer Conference (IHTC-14), Washington D.C., 2010, Session Chair
  • 7th International Conference on Enhanced, Compact, and Ultra-Compact Heat Exchangers (ECI-CHE), Heredia, Costa Rica, 2009, Session Chair
  • Reviewer for Applied Thermal Engineering, Int. Journal of Refrigeration, Int. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, Applied Surface Science, Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, Science and Technology for the Built Environment

Professional Development Activities

  • Invited Presentation at the EVR2019 Conference, “Surface Wettability Modification in HVAC&R Systems," Florianópolis, Brazil, February 2019.
  • NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program, Proposal Writing Workshop, 2011
  • CELT New Faculty Teaching Enhancement Program, 2008-2008
  • 27th International Lilly Conference on College Teaching, 2007

Principal Publications

  • Misiiuk, K., Blaikie, R., Sommers, A., Lowrey, S., 2023, “New testing method for the evaluation of topographical gradients of varying strength,” Physics of Fluids 35, 052013.
  • Misiiuk, K., Blaikie, R., Sommers, A., Lowrey, S., 2023, “Force balance model for spontaneous droplet motion on bio-inspired topographical surface tension gradients,” Physics of Fluids 35, 024108.
  • Prime, H., Lowrey, S., Blaikie, R., Sommers, A., Sun, Z., Juras, J., 2022, “Micro-fabricated aluminium surfaces for reduced ice adhesion,” Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 136, 110646.
  • Misiiuk, K., Lowrey, S., Blaikie, R., Juras, J., and Sommers, A., 2022, “Development of a Coating-Less Aluminum Superhydrophobic Gradient for Spontaneous Water Droplet Motion Using One-Step Laser-Ablation,” Langmuir 38, 1954-1965. 
  • Misiiuk, K., Lowrey, S., Blaikie, R., Juras, J. and Sommers, A., 2022, “Study of Micro- and Nanopatterned Aluminum Surfaces Using Different Microfabrication Processes for Water Management,” Langmuir 38, 1386-1397. 
  • Mahapatra, P.S., Ganguly, R., Ghosh, A., Chatterjee, S., Lowrey, S., Sommers, A.D., Megaridis, C.M., 2022, “Patterning wettability for open-surface fluidic manipulation: Fundamentals and applications,” Chemical Reviews 122, 16752-16801.  
  • Lowrey, S., Misiiuk, K., Blaikie, R., Sommers, A., 2022, “Survey of Micro/ Nanofabricated Chemical, ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈographical, and Compound Passive Wetting Gradient Surfaces,” Langmuir 38, 605-619. 
  • Koopman, A.E., Sommers, A.D., Hermes, C.J.L., 2021, “Using patterned surface wettability to enhance air-side heat transfer through frozen water droplet vortex generators – Part I: Experimental study,” Int. J. Refrigeration 131, 332-340.
  • Koopman, A.E., Sommers, A.D., Hermes, C.J.L., 2021, “Using patterned surface wettability to enhance air-side heat transfer through frozen water droplet vortex generators – Part II: CFD simulation results,” Int. J. Refrigeration 131, 737-745.
  • Hermes, C.J.L., Boeng, J., da Silva, D.L., Knabben, F.T., Sommers, A.D., 2021, “Evaporator Frosting in Refrigerating Appliances: Fundamentals and Applications,” Energies 14, 5991.   
  • Misiiuk, K., Lowrey, S., Blaikie, R., Juras, J., Sommers, A., Leveneur, J., 2021, “Surface Wetting on Micro-milled and Laser-Etched Aluminium with Ion-Beam Post-Processing,” Journal of Vacuum Science Technology B, 39(6), 062206; .  
  • Schmiesing, N.C., Corti, L.G., Sommers, A.D., 2020, “Water condensation and droplet shedding behaviour on silica nanospring coated tubes,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12, pp. 17046-17054.
  • Sommers, A.D., Panth, M., Eid, K.F., 2020, “Spontaneous water droplet movement on a copper radial gradient surface,” Applied Thermal Engineering 173, 115226.
  • Edalatpour, M., Sommers, A.D., Eid, K.F., 2020, “Variations of the Static Contact Angle of Ferrofluid Droplets on Solid Horizontal Surfaces in External Uniform Magnetic Fields,” Langmuir 36(22), pp. 6314-6322.
  • Hermes, C.J.L., Sommers, A.D., Barbosa, J.R., 2019, “Time scaling of frost accretion and the square-root-of-time rule,” Int. Comm. Heat & Mass Transfer 108, 104281.
  • Corti, L.G., Schmiesing, N.C., Barrington, G.T., Humphreys, M.G., Sommers, A.D., 2019, “Characterization of methyl-functionalized silica nanosprings for superhydrophobic and defrosting coatings,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 11, pp. 4607-4615.
  • Hermes, C.J.L., Nascimento Jr., V.S., Loyola, F.R., Cardoso, R.P., Sommers, A.D., 2019, “A study of frost build-up on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces under forced convection conditions,” Exp. Thermal and Fluid. Science 100, pp. 76-88.
  • Edalatpour, E., Liu, L., Jacobi, A.M., Eid, K.F., Sommers, A.D., 2018, “Managing water on heat transfer surfaces: A critical review of techniques to modify surface wettability for applications with condensation or evaporation,” Applied Energy 222, pp. 967-992.
  • Sommers, A.D., Gebhart, C.W., Hermes, C.J.L., 2018, “The Role of Surface Wettability on Natural Convection Frosting: Frost Growth Data and a New Correlation for Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 122, pp. 78-88.
  • Eid, K.F., Panth, M., Sommers, A.D., 2018, “The Physics of Water Droplets on Surfaces: Exploring the Effects of Roughness and Surface Chemistry,” European Journal of Physics 39(2), 025804, 21pp.
  • Hermes, C.J.L., Sommers, A.D., Gebhart, C.W., Nascimento, V.S., 2018, “A semi-empirical model for predicting frost accretion on hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces,” Short Report, Int. J. Refrigeration 87, 164-171.
  • Schmiesing, N.C., Sommers, A.D., 2017, “Defrosting Performance on Hydrophilic, Hydrophobic, and Micro-Patterned Gradient Heat Transfer Surfaces,” ASHRAE Science & Technology for the Built Environment 23, pp. 946-959.
  • Sommers, A.D., Napora, A.C., Truster, N.L., Caraballo, E.J., Hermes, C.J.L., 2017, “A semi-empirical correlation for predicting the frost density on hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates,” Int. J. Refrigeration 74, pp. 311-321.
  • Ody, T., Panth, M., Sommers, A.D., Eid, K.F., 2016, “Controlling the Motion of Ferrofluid Droplets Using Surface Tension Gradients and Magnetoviscous Pinning,” Langmuir 32, pp. 6967-6976.            
  • Sommers, A.D., Truster, N.L., Napora, A.C., Riechman, A.C., Caraballo, E.J., 2016, “Densification of Frost on Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Substrates- Examining the Effect of Surface Wettability,” Exp. Thermal and Fluid Science, Vol. 75, pp. 25-34.
  • Sommers, A.D., Brest, T.J., Eid, K.F., 2013, “¾Ã¾ÃÈÈography-Based Surface Tension Gradients to Facilitate Water Droplet Movement on Laser-Etched Copper Substrates,” Langmuir, Vol. 29, pp. 12043-12050.
  • Alheshibri, M.H., Rogers, N.G., Sommers, A.D., Eid, K.F., 2013, “Spontaneous Movement of Water Droplets on Patterned Cu and Al Surfaces with Wedge-Shaped Gradients,” Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 102, 174103.
  • Sommers, A.D., Yerkes, K.L., 2013, “Using Micro-Structural Surface Features to Enhance the Convective Flow Boiling Heat Transfer of R-134a on Aluminum,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 64, pp. 1053-1063.
  • Yu, R., Sommers, A.D., Okamoto, N.C., 2013, “Effect of a Micro-Grooved Fin Surface Design on the Air-Side Thermal-Hydraulic Performance of a Plain Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger,” International Journal of Refrigeration, Vol. 36, pp. 1078-1089.
  • Gossard, J.J.,Han, X., Ramalingam, M., Sommers, A.D., 2013, “Investigating the Thermal-Hydraulic Performance of New Refrigerant Mixtures through Numerical Simulation of Minichannel and Microchannel Evaporators,” Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 50, pp. 1291-1298.
  • Sommers, A.D., Yu, R., Okamoto, N.C., Upadhyayula, K., 2012, “Condensate Drainage Performance of a Plain Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger Constructed from Anisotropic Micro-grooved Fins,” International Journal of Refrigeration, Vol. 35, pp. 1766-1778.
  • Sommers, A.D., Ying, J., Eid, K.F., 2012, “Predicting the Onset of Condensate Droplet Departure From a Vertical Surface Due to Air Flow— Applications to ¾Ã¾ÃÈÈographically-Modified, Micro-Grooved Surfaces,” Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, Vol. 40, pp. 38-49.
  • Sommers, A., Wang, Q., Han, X., T’Joen, C., Park, Y., Jacobi, A., 2010, “Ceramics and Ceramic Matrix Composites for Heat Exchangers in Advanced Thermal Systems-A Review,” Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 30 Issue 11-12, pp. 1277-1291.
  • Sommers, A.D., Yerkes, K.L., 2010, “Experimental Investigation into the Convective Heat Transfer and System-Level Effects of Al2O3-Propanol Nanofluid,” Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 12 (3), pp. 1003-1014.