Rapid advances in technologies in the last decade have brought forth new challenges in thermal sciences and fluid mechanics. For instance, thermal management of electronic packaging is critical as we approach the sub-micron and even nanoscale feature sizes on a chip. The realms of bioengineering and nanotechnology have opened up a myriad of opportunities for engineers working in the thermal and fluids engineering. Increasingly, we find that existing knowledge is insufficient to deal with such complex systems. Staff in the Thermal and Fluids Engineering Division has responded to these challenges by undertaking research projects which attempt to breach the boundaries such as computational modeling of the physiological systems, DNA modeling, biomedical engineering, transport phenomena in microchannels and microfluidics, unmanned micro aerial vehicles, thermal management of advanced electronic packages, fuel cells and fuel reforming, life cycle analysis of power generation systems, adsorption technology, desalination and gas separation.

The division is involved in the teaching of the fundamentals of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer. The expertise within the division is manifested in the final year options that are offered by the division, namely, aeronautical engineering, biomedical engineering and energy and the environment. In addition, staff in the division is also involved in several postgraduate courses offered by the school. Teaching and research in the division is supported by several well-equipped laboratories providing all the essential facilities.