Alan McGaughey
Trustee Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Courtesy Appointment, Materials Science and Engineering
Alan McGaughey leads the Nanoscale Transport Phenomena Laboratory, which seeks to understand the transport of energy, mass, and momentum at the atomic level by studying the behavior of phonons, photons, electrons, and fluid particles. Their research is based in mechanical engineering and incorporates knowledge from physics, materials science, and chemistry. They develop and apply molecular- and meso-scale simulation techniques, and collaborate closely with experimental research groups.
He received a Bachelor of Engineering from McMaster University (1998), a Master of Applied Science from the University of Toronto (2000), and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan (2004). He came to Carnegie Mellon University in 2005 after a post-doc at the University of Florida, and was a Harrington Faculty Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin in 2012-2013.
He is a fellow of ASME and APS and his work was recognized by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program. His commitment to teaching and mentoring has earned him the Benjamin Richard Teare Teaching Award, the Philip K. Dowd Fellowship, and the Outstanding Mentoring Award. He has been voted Professor of the Year by the Mechanical Engineering seniors four times (2012, 2015, 2017, 2026).
Improving Thermal Conductivity in Polymer Materials
Nanoscale Heat Transfer: Thermal Conductivity Prediction
Education
2004 Ph.D., University of Michigan
2000 MS., University of Toronto
1998 Bachelor of Engineering, McMaster University
Affiliations
Media mentions
Mechanical Engineering
McGaughey reflects on 25 years of nanoscale heat transfer modeling
Alan McGaughey shares insights from decades of research on how heat moves through materials, highlighting advances in computational modeling and the future of thermal transport science.
Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation
Scott Institute announces 2026 seed grant winners
This year, a total of seven projects received seed funding, with another three proposals receiving support through the hardware and software tool upgrade program.
CMU Engineering
Going for gold in thermal conductivity
Mechanical Engineering Professor Alan McGaughey coordinated the “Phonon Olympics,” bringing together developers and expert users to benchmark three leading open-source thermal conductivity calculation packages.
Faculty award winners announced
Congratulations to the 2024 faculty award winners who represent six departments across the College of Engineering. The recipients were recognized for their achievements as researchers and educators.
CMU Engineering
Predicting portable power
Researchers at CMU and the University of Texas at Austin have designed a model that accurately predicts a battery’s charge curve, which could impact the safety and reliability of electric vehicles.
CMU Engineering
Move over metals, plastics can be thermally conductive too
An interdisciplinary team led by Jon Malen has received funding from the Department of Defense to discover switchable high thermal conductivity polymers.
CMU Engineering
Meitz first in 25 years to receive DOE graduate fellowship
Mechanical engineering student Ethan Meitz is working to create predictive nanoscale models for the thermophysical properties of liquids.
Mechanical Engineering
Releasing the heat
Researchers develop a universal model to predict the thermal boundary conductance of a multilayered-metal-dielectric interface. This model will help to streamline the development of thermally efficient devices.
McGaughey selected for fellowship
MechE’s Alan McGaughey has been selected to receive the 2021 Viskanta Fellowship from Purdue University, which seeks individuals with “demonstrated abilities to perform independent and innovative research in the field of thermal sciences.”
Engineering faculty awarded professorships
Engineering faculty Peter Adams, Elizabeth Dickey, Carlee Joe-Wong, Pulkit Grover, Alan McGaughey, Rahul Panat, and Douglas Weber were awarded professorship titles in February and March 2021.
College of Engineering names 2019 faculty award winners
The College of Engineering has announced the winners of the 2019 faculty awards. They include: Alan McGaughey, Paulina Jaramillo, Jana Kainerstorfer, Reeja Jayan, Carmel Majidi, Jonathan Malen, and Vijayakumar Bhagavatula.
Scott Institute
Eight faculty receive Scott Institute seed grants for energy research
The Scott Institute recently selected awardees from the College of Engineering for its seventh round of seed grants for energy research.