José L. Lage

Professor José L. Lage is a tenured faculty member in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he has served since 1991. He founded the Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics Laboratory, supported by over $3 million in grants from NSF, NIST, DOE, and industry. His research focuses on thermal sciences, including heat exchangers, thermodynamic systems, and porous media transport.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Duke University
• M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ), Brazil
• B.Sc. in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, PUC-RJ, Brazil

Research interests include design of complex heat exchangers, alveolar gas exchange modeling, and thermal management in microelectronics. He has authored over 200 publications and holds a patent with a 36 h-index and 5,400+ citations.

His awards include the Sigma Xi Research Award, ASEE Teaching Excellence, and ASME-NTS Engineer of the Year. He served as NSF Program Director for Thermal Transport (2015–2019), SMU Faculty Senate President (2011–2012), and Associate Chair of ME (2000–2002). He has held visiting roles at ETH Zurich and UTF-PR-Brazil, and chairs the Scientific Council of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer.

Grants and collaborations span NSF, NIST, and industry partnerships. His work emphasizes bridging fundamental research with real-world thermal engineering challenges.