Xinpeng Zhao, 32, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been named to the 2024 MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35. The magazine chose Zhao for inventing “a glass-based coating that can cool the roof of a building by around 3.5 °C below ambient air temperature, which could reduce air-conditioning energy use by nearly 10% for a mid-rise building.”
When asked about the driving factor behind this project, Zhao said, “Our overall goal is to cool the buildings, cool the cities and, ultimately, cool the Earth.” He is one of 35 innovators selected to join the 2024 cohort for his work to drive progress toward a more stable climate.
In describing the work, the MIT Technology Review website explained:
“Today, air conditioning and other cooling systems emit around 7% of global greenhouse gases, a number that is projected to triple by mid-century. Passive cooling materials are an appealing alternative, because they cool themselves without using any energy.”
While such cooling materials have been available for years, most are based on polymers and plastics and can't withstand decades of exposure to the elements.
Those materials lose up to 30% of their performance in just a few days on the roof of a building as they turn yellow, says Zhao, and, ‘after a few months they will totally lose their cooling efficiency.’
Zhao solved the durability problem by working with finely ground glass and aluminum oxide instead of plastics. His new coating can be sprayed or painted on buildings, vehicles, or roads. It's composed of an aluminum oxide particle of around 500 nanometers, which is perfectly tuned to reflect up to 99% of the sun's light to prevent heat absorption in the first place.”
Zhao and his team created a startup called Ceracool to scale up and commercialize the developed glass-based coatings. In his work at MSU, Zhao will continue to design innovative technologies for energy efficiency and sustainability, contributing to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.
When asked about his reaction to receiving the recognition, Zhao said, “This award is encouraging for me because it’s proof that my work is actually useful and promising. It also provides us a kind of opportunity to introduce our work to the public. If I can help change the world for people to have a better life, a more comfortable life, than this is the meaning of being an engineer.”
Zhao joins Richard Lunt, the Johansen Crosby Professor and Chengcheng Fang, assistant professor, both in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science in the College of Engineering, as MSU faculty members recognized by Tech Review’s list. Lunt was honored in 2015 for his work pioneering transparent solar energy technology. Fang was honored in 2022 for her work to make EV batteries run safer and last longer.
Original MIT Technology Review story by Russ Juskalian
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page