MAE 298 Seminar: Thermal Design of Electronic Equipment

Abstract: The seminar delves into the theoretical and practical aspects of thermal management for electronic systems. It covers essential principles of heat transfer, including radiation and both natural and forced convection and applies these to the design and analysis of various electronic devices, ranging from portable devices such as cell phones and tablets to large-scale systems like servers and data centers. Key topics include the fundamentals of electronic packaging, fluid mechanics related to fans, pumps and blowers, and different heat transfer mechanisms such as conduction and phase-change technologies, including heat pipes and vapor chambers. The seminar also addresses thermal design for both small form-factor devices, focusing on optimizing energy efficiency, minimizing acoustic output and exploring emerging cooling technologies. Additional areas of discussion include transient thermal behavior, advanced thermal control systems like PID controllers and innovative cooling approaches such as piezoelectric and thermoelectric technologies. The talk will also highlight practical considerations such as shock, vibration and EMI challenges, as well as the ergonomic and acoustic factors that influence the thermal design of modern electronic equipment. 

Bio: Rakesh Bhatia is a thermal engineer with nearly 20 years of professional experience working with major technology companies, including Cisco, Oracle, Dell and Intel. His career has focused on the design and implementation of thermal solutions for various electronic systems, ranging from data centers and servers to mobile computing devices. He specializes in optimizing cooling technologies, including fans, heatsinks and heat pipes, and has extensive knowledge of electronic components like CPUs, GPUs and power supplies. Currently, Rakesh holds the role of Principal Hardware Engineer and Technical Leader II at Cisco, where he oversees the thermal design of server and storage products with an emphasis on energy-efficient cooling. His work has contributed to the development of products that balance airflow and acoustic performance while maintaining high energy efficiency. In his previous roles, he played a key part in thermal designs for x86 systems at Oracle and was instrumental in introducing new cooling technologies for mobile devices at Intel. Rakesh holds a Ph.D. in fluid/thermal sciences from the UC Irvine, and has been awarded over 46 patents related to thermal engineering.