Rehan Khalid, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Integrated Sciences and Mathematics
Dhanani School of Science & Engineering
rehan.khalid@sse.habib.edu.pk

Education

  • Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Thermal Sciences) (2022)
    Villanova University, USA
  • M.S. in Mechanical Engineering (2016)
    Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
    Fulbright Scholar
  • B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (2012)
    GIK Institute of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan

Courses Taught

  • Heat Transfer
  • Thermal Management of Electronics and Data Centers
  • Data Center Waste Heat Recovery

biography

Dr. Rehan Khalid is a thermal engineering specialist with extensive experience in data center cooling, thermal management of electronic systems, and energy-efficient cooling technologies. He combines strong academic training with industry-focused research and professional practice, with particular expertise in air- and liquid-cooled server architectures, two-phase cooling systems, and waste heat recovery.

Dr. Khalid has over eight years of combined industrial and graduate research experience, including engineering roles at leading global technology firms such as Google and Lenovo, where he contributed to the design and validation of next-generation server- and chip-level cooling solutions. His research has been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including ASME and IEEE transactions, and he actively serves as a reviewer for leading international journals and conferences in thermal sciences and energy systems.

He earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Thermal Sciences) from Villanova University and is a recipient of several prestigious honors, including the Fulbright Scholarship. His work bridges academia and industry, with a strong emphasis on scalable, reliable, and energy-efficient thermal solutions for modern data centers.

Research Interests

  • Data center thermal management
  • Rack-level and server-level thermal design
  • Single and two-phase liquid cooling technologies
  • Waste heat recovery and energy efficiency
  • Thermal modeling of heat exchangers and turbomachinery

Selected Publications

  • Journal Articles (selected)

    • Khalid, R., & Wemhoff, A. P. (2019). Thermal Control Strategies for Reliable and Energy Efficient Data Centers.
      ASME Journal of Electronic Packaging.
    • Khalid, R., Wemhoff, A. P., & Joshi, Y. (2017). Energy and Exergy Analysis of Modular Data Centers.
      IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology.
    • Khalid, R., Schon, S. G., Amalfi, L., Ortega, A., & Wemhoff, A. P. (2024). Characterization of a Rack-Level Cooling System for Data Center Applications.
      ASME Journal of Electronic Packaging.
    • Khalid, R., Schon, S. G., Amalfi, L., Ortega, A., & Wemhoff, A. P. (2024). Validation and Analysis of a Finned Tube Heat Exchanger Model.
      ASME Journal of Electronic Packaging.

Industry Experience

  • Mechanical Systems Engineer, Google LLC (2024–2025)
    Server-level thermal design and CFD-based optimization for next-generation computing platforms.
  • Thermal Engineer, Lenovo Inc. (2022–2024)
    Chip- and server-level cooling design, liquid cooling systems, and thermal validation of enterprise servers.
  • Thermal Analytics Intern, Schneider Electric (2021)
    Development and evaluation of smart cooling control strategies for data centers.

Research & Professional Service

  • Graduate Research Assistant, Multiscale Systems Analysis Lab, Villanova University (2016–2022)
  • Guest reviewer for journals including Applied Energy, Building and Environment,
    Journal of Cleaner Production, and Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications
  • Session Co-Chair, IEEE ITherm Conference (2025)

Honors and Awards

  • Fulbright Scholarship (2014–2016)
  • Outstanding Paper Award, InterPACK (2021)

Teaching & Expertise Areas

  • Heat Transfer
  • Thermal Management of Electronics and Data Centers
  • Data Center Waste Heat Recovery
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