Sylvie Lorente

Sylvie Lorente is a Professor at Villanova University (College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering). She holds concurrent positions as Professor (Exceptional Class) at INSA Toulouse (France), Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), and Adjunct Professor at Duke University (USA). Her academic career includes past roles at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shandong Academy of Sciences, and Pontificia Universidad Catolica (Chile).

Research Interests:
Her work centers on thermal engineering, heat transfer, and the Constructal Law, which governs the design of flow systems in nature and technology. She explores evolutionary design, sustainability, and energy-efficient systems for buildings and urban environments, mass transfer, and applications of dendritic flow networks to thermochemical energy storage, battery thermal management, and bio-based materials.

Key Trends in Publications:
Recent articles focus on optimizing battery thermal management using constructal canopy-to-canopy designs, phase change materials (PCM) for cooling and energy storage, hierarchical capillary networks for evaporative cooling, and fluid flow architectures in porous media. Her work bridges thermodynamics, materials science, and sustainable design.

Scientific Awards:

• Order 'Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite' (2015, French Government)
• PROSE Award for 'Design with Constructal Theory' (2009, American Association of Publishers)
• Order 'Les Palmes Académiques' (2008, France)
• James P. Hartnett Memorial Award (2007, American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
• Intelligent Optimal Design Prize (2006, CADLM)
• Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator in Heat Transfer Award (2005, ASME)
• Edward F. Obert Award (2004, ASME)