College profile and statistics

Photography by Denny Wolverton, Gary Tarleton, and Gail Mathieson.

Articles by Gregg Kleiner.

Edited by Gale Sumida.

Art direction and graphic design by
Sanda Communications.

The elegant branching patterns found everywhere in nature—from the veins in tree leaves to the tributaries of rivers—are being used by OSU researchers to develop a myriad of super-efficient heat and mass transfer devices, such as the micro-scale flow channel system etched into a silicon chip. This new technology has wide applications, from cooling computer microchips to synthesizing new pharmaceuticals. Mechanical Engineering assistant professor Deborah Pence (pictured below, with post-bac Mechanical Engineering student Jeremy Siekas) designed and developed this innovative device, in collaboration with Nuclear Engineering professor José Reyes.