SAU student wins award in “2014 International Field-Reversible Thermal Connector (RevCon) Challenge”

On 3 November, 2014, Mr. Zhan Lifu from College of Mechanical Engineering, SAU competed in a final round of 2014 International Field-Reversible Thermal Connector (RevCon) Challenge organized by DARPA, along with his American classmates of Mississippi University. The Mississippi team won the “Most Multidisciplinary Design” out of hundreds of other competitors around the world. In August 2012, Zhan Lifu went to the USA as a student in “2+2” joint degree program between SAU and Mississippi University.

It is reported that as early as three years ago, American military started to sponsor some challenge sessions inviting strong teams around the world in order to solve the dilemma for motherboard or high frequency chips adapted to fighter planes or super computers to get rapid cooling in vibrating environments. They wish to obtain some good designs of heat radiating device for fast heat conduction and for stabilization of motherboard. All competitors have to present and demonstrate the team’s proposed ‘thermal connector’ to a panel of judges from DARPA and industries from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc.

This year, the teams that entered into the final round were from Mississippi University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Maryland, University of Missouri, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Donghua University and National Tsing Hua University of China.