Andrea Pickel

Andrea Pickel is an Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester, holding joint appointments in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, and the Institute of Optics, while also serving as a Scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). She received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley (2019) and a BS from Carnegie Mellon University (2014). Her research focuses on nanoscale heat transfer, leveraging luminescent materials and super-resolution imaging to address challenges in thermal management, catalysis, and energy systems.

Education:

• PhD, Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley, 2019
• BS, Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 2014

Research interests include luminescence nanothermometry, single-nanoparticle imaging, and high-temperature thermal metrology. Her work integrates experimental methods like stimulated emission depletion (STED) imaging and operando spectroscopy to advance understanding of energy transport at the nanoscale.

Notable awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2022), ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award (2020), and Furth Fund Award (2021). She was also named a Scialog Fellow in 2024.

Advancing thermal measurement techniques, her group collaborates across disciplines to tackle applications in carbon capture, battery technology, and plasmonic photocatalysis. Current projects emphasize developing dual-mode sensing tools for real-time thermal and chemical monitoring.

Labs/Teams: Active at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and leads the Pickel Research Group in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.