Kazuya Tajiri

Kazuya Tajiri

Contact

  • Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Director, Multi-Scale Technologies Institute (MuSTI)
  • SAE Aero Faculty Advisor
  • PhD, Pennsylvania State University

Biography

Dr. Kazuya Tajiri earned his Bachelor degree from the University of Tokyo, and Master of Science degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in the field of turbulent combustion simulation. After three years of fuel cell research at Nissan Motors in Japan, he returned to the U.S. to continue PhD research at Pennsylvania State University, and earned his PhD degree in 2008. After two years of experience at Argonne National Laboratory conducting fuel cell systems modeling and analysis, he joined Michigan Technological University in 2010.

Currently, Dr. Tajiri is the director of the Multiscale Transport Process Laboratory (MTPL), and investigates the multiphase, multiscale transport phenomena in energy conversion devices and propulsion systems.

At present, two main research objectives are being conducted:

  • Electrochemical devices for energy conversion
  • Unsteady flow systems for propulsion / energy conversion

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Ex-situ and in-situ characterization of transport properties through porous media
  • Proton exchange membrane fuel cell in-situ diagnostics and modeling
  • Fuel cell systems modeling and analysis
  • Primary / secondary metal-air battery diagnostics and modeling
  • Gas-liquid two-phase flows in microchannels
  • Shock wave compression in microchannels

Research Interests

  • Transport phenomena in multiscale/multiphase systems
  • Thermo-fluid system diagnostics, modeling, and optimization
  • Polymer electrolyte fuel cells for automotive application
  • Renewable energy
  • Combustion dynamics modeling