Funds from Haidong Pan and other alumni support student lab work
This summer at the Boston University College of Engineering, three undergraduate students are working on technologies that might lead to stronger and longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries, more affordable water purification and desalination systems, and more energy-efficient computer chips. The students are the 2026 Dr. Haidong Pan Distinguished Energy and Environmental Sustainability Fellows, and they’re among a slew of undergrads undertaking research projects this summer, thanks to the support of generous BU alumni and faculty. Other awardees include 11 Distinguished Summer Research Fellows and 16 Summer Term Alumni Research Scholars.
The three energy research fellowships are named for their sponsor, Haidong Pan (ENG’04), who earned his PhD in systems engineering from BU and went on to found Baike.com, China’s largest wiki site. Pan’s doctoral advisor Professor Michael Caramanis (ME, SE) and the College of Engineering also contributed funds.
The Haidong Pan fellows earn a ten-week stipend for their research duties. This year’s recipients are Jun Sang Koo (ENG’29), Nik Polyakov (ENG’28), and Reuben Then (ENG’27). All three are mechanical engineering majors, with Then majoring in electrical engineering as well.
“Undergraduate research gives students the opportunity to experience engineering beyond the classroom by working on real-world problems alongside faculty mentors,” says Professor Ayse Coskun (ECE, SE), associate dean for research and faculty development. “The Dr. Haidong Pan Fellowships are especially impactful because they support research in energy and environmental sustainability, areas that are critical to addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
“These challenges in energy and sustainability are inherently convergent, requiring collaboration across different engineering disciplines, the sciences, and computing,” adds Coskun, who is also director of the Center for Information and Systems Engineering.
Koo’s project is “Next-Generation Polyamide Filters for Low-Energy Water Purification.” Koo is growing and characterizing thin films of 2DPA-1, a two-dimensional polymer whose molecules link into flat, ordered sheets rather than the tangled chains of ordinary plastics. This flat structure makes the polymer remarkably strong even at just a few nanometers thick.
The goal in growing and testing these films is to determine whether they can work as water filtration membranes. If successful, “The polymer can serve as a membrane that is ultra-thin and strong and could filter water efficiently, with applications in water purification and desalination, meaning lower energy costs and broader access to clean water,” says Koo, whose advisor on the project is Associate Professor Scott Bunch (ME, MSE, Physics).
Advised by Assistant Professor Sean Lubner (ME, MSE), Polyakov is studying “Non-Destructive Battery Diagnostics via Thermal Wave Analysis,” a project combining hardware, software, and analysis. Fast charging shortens the life span of lithium-ion batteries, Polyakov says, but current tools to measure battery degradation are too slow or actually damage the cell. Applying a thin sensor that generates thermal wave sensors, Polyakov hopes to reveal degradation and other properties safely.
“The broader impact supports batteries that are both high-energy and high-power, a critical bottleneck for EVs and grid storage,” says Polyakov, “with potential extension to fuel cells, carbon capture materials, and thermal energy storage systems.”
In his project “Physics-Guided ML for Scalable Chip Thermal Modeling,” Reuben Then (ENG’27) is working on ML-PACT, a machine learning accelerated thermal simulator for computer chips. “As demand for high-performance computing grows, computer chips consume more power and generate more heat,” Then explains. “Managing this heat is critical to maintaining the computer chip’s performance and lifespan, making accurate simulation of computer chip heat dissipation essential for designing and maintaining computer chips.”
However, current simulators themselves require significant computing resources as well as time. The ML-PACT model promises to cut both by using a novel approach. To make it work, Then will be retraining the model, integrating physics-based models to improve ML-PACT’s performance while maintaining its efficiency and speed.
“Complementing Boston University’s long-standing and highly successful Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), the Haidong Pan Fellowships enable more students to participate in sustained research experiences and make meaningful contributions to projects that advance knowledge and benefit society,” says Coskun, who is also Then’s advisor. “We are deeply grateful to Dr. Haidong Pan for his vision and generosity in supporting the next generation of innovators and engineering leaders.”
Distinguished Summer Research Fellows (DSRF) also spend ten weeks working in a variety of ENG faculty labs. The DSRF program was established by an anonymous alumnus in 2010 in honor of then-dean Kenneth Lutchen. The program has since grown through additional designated gifts. Students earn stipends for their research duties, housing, and other expenses.
The Summer Term Alumni Research Scholars (STARS) awards, funded by alumni contributions, provide housing allowances to make it easier for ENG students to stay in Boston over the summer and work in ENG faculty labs.