Solomon Adera, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at U-M, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Henry Russel Award.
The Henry Russel Award, conferred annually by Rackham Graduate School, was established in 1925 and is considered the University’s highest honor for faculty at the early to mid-career stages of their career. The award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated an extraordinary record of accomplishment in scholarly research and/or creativity, as well as an excellent record of contributions as a teacher.
“I am deeply honored to receive the 2026 Henry Russel Award,” Adera said. “I would like to thank the selection committee for recognizing my work. Furthermore, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my letter writers and mentors. I couldn’t have done this without your unwavering support and words of encouragement.”
Adera’s research focuses on fundamental studies in heat and mass transfer processes and fluid-structure interaction for energy applications. His work on enhancing condensation using engineered surfaces aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving the overall thermodynamic efficiency of the steam cycle. His work on boiling using state-of-the-art micro/nanoengineered surfaces has direct implications in the emerging immersion cooling for data center thermal management.
As principal investigator in the Energy Transport Lab, Adera works with graduate students, undergraduate students, and postdocs to develop innovative and novel thermal management solutions for electronic devices, including wide-bandgap power electronics and lithium ion batteries.
Adera earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and was a postdoctoral associate at Harvard University before joining U-M ME in 2020. He has been recognized with multiple awards from ASME and NSF for his research, mentoring, and professional contributions in the fields of thermal-fluid sciences.
