Steven Rogak

Steven Rogak

Steven Rogak

Professor

P.Eng., B.A.Sc. (British Columbia), M.Sc., Ph.D. (Cal. Tech.)

phone: (604) 822-4149
email: rogak@mech.ubc.ca
website:  Aerosol Laboratory
office: CEME 2064

Research Interests

Aerosols are liquid or solid particles suspended in a gas.  Solid nanoparticles (ie., diameters much less than 1 micron) are produced by combustion processes (eg., diesel engines), and as an atmospheric contaminant, they can have a major impact on climate forcing as well as on human health.  It is important to understand the impact of these particles, and more importantly, reduce concentrations of these particles in the indoor and outdoor environments.  This overall motivation for my research has taken me and my students down several interconnected paths.

  • The first path has been to understand how particle morphology of solid, fractal-like particles (such as soot) affects the transport properties and measurement of the particles.  This is an essential component of conducting experimental research on fractal nanoparticles, and an important ingredient in models of particle formation in engines.  A related research project has sought to characterize the difference in real particle morphology as a function of engine operating conditions.
  • A second path has been the development of new fuel injectors and injection strategies to minimize particle formation in compression ignition engines.  This work, done in collaboration with Westport Innovations has been applied and experimental, but my group is working on new phenomenological models of particle formation in engines.
  • A third stream of research aims to reduce aerosol concentrations where people spend most of their time – inside buildings.  Here the challenge is to remove harmful nanoparticles using filtration systems that do not require excessive energy consumption.

Current Research Work

I am actively pursuing all three research threads above, and interested in bringing new experimental and theoretical techniques to these problems.  Graduate student applicants interested in working in these areas should have strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics, heat transfer and a talent for experimental research.

Selected Publications

  • Aminian, B., Rahgozar, I., Huizing, R., Green, S. I., and Rogak, S.N., “Influence of membrane deflection on energy exchanger performance”, Energy and Buildings, 296, 113378, 2023.
  • Sipkens, T.A., Boies, A., Corbin, J.C., Chakrabarty, R.K., Olfert, J., and Rogak, S.N., “Overview of methods to characterize the mass, size, and morphology of soot”, Journal of Aerosol Science, p. 106211, 2023.
  • Rogak, S.N., Rysanek, A., Lee, J-M, Dhulipala, S-V, Zimmerman, N., Wright, M. and Weimer, M. “The effect of air purifiers and curtains on aerosol dispersion and removal in multi-patient hospital rooms”, Indoor Air, October, 2022.
  • Aminian, B., Abadi, I.R., Green, S., and Rogak, S., “A contact-based technique for measurement of membrane tension”, Measurement Science and Technology, 33(11), p.115109, 2022.
  • Zimmerman, S., Yeremi, M., Nagamune, R., and Rogak, S.N., “Wind estimation by multirotor drone state using machine learning”, Measurement 198, 111331, 2022.
  • Abadi, I.R., Aminian, B., Huizing, R., Rogak, S. and Green, S., “Orientation dependent permeability in asymmetric composite membranes”, Journal of Membrane Science, 652, p.120474, 2022.
  • Abadi, IR, Aminian, B., Nasr, MR., Huizing, R., Rogak S.N. and Green, S., ”Modelling condensation in energy exchangers with variable permeability membranes”, Energy and Buildings, 262, 112015, 2022.
  • Kheirkhah, P., Kirchen, P. and Rogak, S.N., “Measurement of cycle-resolved engine-out soot concentration from a diesel-pilot assisted natural gas direct-injection compression-ignition engine”, International Journal of Engine Research, 23(3), pp.380-396, 2022.
  • Kim, D., Bahi, A., Liu, L.Y., Bement, T., Rogak, S.N., Renneckar, S., Ko, F. and Mehrkhodavandi, P., “Poly (Lactide)-modified lignin nanofibers: investigating the role of polymer tacticity on fiber properties and filtration efficiency”, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 10(8), pp.2772-2783, 2022.
  • Bement, T.W., Mitros, A., Lau, R., Sipkens, T.A., Songer, J., Alexander, H., Ostrom, D., Nikookar, H. and Rogak, S.N., “Filtration and breathability of nonwoven fabrics used in washable masks”, arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.03505, 2022.
  • Abadi, I.R., Aminian, B., Nasr, M.R., Huizing, R., Green, S. and Rogak, S.N., “Experimental investigation of condensation in energy recovery ventilators”, Energy and Buildings, 256, p.111732, 2022.
  • Naseri, A., Sipkens, T.A., Rogak, S.N. and Olfert, J.S., “Optimized instrument configurations for tandem particle mass analyzer and single particle-soot photometer experiments”, Journal of Aerosol Science, 160, p.105897, 2022.
  • Sipkens, T.A., Grauer, S.J., Steinberg, A.M., Rogak, S.N. and Kirchen, P., “New transform to project axisymmetric deflection fields along arbitrary rays”, Measurement Science and Technology, 33(3), p.035201, 2021.
  • M. Kazemimanesh, Baldelli, A. Trivanovic, U., Popovicheva, O., Timofeev, M., Shonija, N., Obvintsev, Y., Kuang, C., Jefferson, M., Corbin, J., Goss, G., Alessi, D., Johnson, M.R., Rogak, S. N., Olfert, J.S., “Particulate emissions from turbulent diffusion flames with entrained droplets: A laboratory simulation of gas flaring emissions”, Journal of Aerosol Science, 105807, 2021.
  • U. Trivanovic, T.A. Sipkens, M. Kazemimanesh, A. Baldelli, A.M. Jefferson, B.M. Conrad, M.R. Johnson, J.C. Corbin, J.S. Olfert, S.N. Rogak,  “Morphology and size of soot from gas flares as a function of fuel and water addition”, Fuel, vol. 279, p. 118478, 2020.
  • A. Baldelli, U. Trivanovic, T.A. Sipkens, S.N. Rogak, “On determining soot maturity: A review of the role of microscopy-and spectroscopy-based techniques”, Chemosphere, vol. 252, p. 126532, 2020.
  • T.A. Sipkens, J.S. Olfert, S.N. Rogak, “Inversion methods to determine two-dimensional aerosol mass-mobility distributions: A critical comparison of established methods”, Journal of Aerosol Science,vol. 140, p. 105484, 2020.
  • A. Baldelli, S.N. Rogak, “Morphology and Raman spectra of aerodynamically classified soot samples”, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques,2019.
  • J. Olfert, and S.N. Rogak, “Universal relations between soot effective density and primary particle size for common combustion sources,” Aerosol Science and Technology, pp.1-8, 2019.
  • M. Kazemimanesh, R. Dastanpour, A. Baldelli, A. Moallemi, K.A. Thomson, M.A. Jefferson, M.R. Johnson, S.N. Rogak, and J.S. Olfert, “Size, effective density, morphology, and nano-structure of soot particles generated from buoyant turbulent diffusion flames,” Journal of Aerosol Science, 2019.
  • A. Baldelli, U. Trivanovic, and S.N. Rogak, “Electron tomography of soot for validation of 2D image processing and observation of new structural features,” Aerosol Science and Technology, pp.1-8, 2019.
  • A. Engarnevis, R. Huizing, S. Green, and S.N. Rogak, “Heat and mass transfer modeling in enthalpy exchangers using asymmetric composite membranes,” Journal of Membrane Science, 556, pp.248-262, 2018.
  • M. Barimani, S. Green, and S.N. Rogak, “Particulate concentration distribution in centrifugal air classifiers,” Minerals Engineering, 126, pp.44-51, 2018.
  • R. Dastanpour, A. Momenimovahed, K. Thomson, J. Olfert, and S. Rogak, “Variation of the optical properties of soot as a function of particle mass,” Carbon, 124, pp.201-211.
  • K.K. Leung, E.G. Schnitzler, R. Dastanpour, S.N. Rogak, W. Jäger, and J.S. Olfert, “Relationship between coating-induced soot aggregate restructuring and primary particle number,” Environmental science & technology, 51(15), pp.8376-8383, 2017.
  • A. Engarnevis, R. Huizing, S. Green, and S. Rogak, “Particulate fouling assessment in membrane based air-to-air energy exchangers,” Energy and Buildings, 150, pp.477-487, 2017.

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