Dr. Nastaran Barhemmati received her PhD in Mechanical and Energy Engineering from the University of North Texas and joined Viking Cold Solutions Inc. in 2020 as a Thermal Energy Scientist. She is presently leading R&D projects regarding Phase Change Materials in the Cold Storage industry. She also directs thermal energy storage projects by collaborating with national labs under the Department of Energy. She has led Research and Development efforts for private and academic ventures for ten years and is an expert in all laboratory instrumentation and simulation tools for conventional and nanoparticles.

She has experience delivering applied research and successful conversions to commercial applications. During her Ph.D., she founded the Iranian Students Association (IRSA) and led cultural events as president and founder from 2015 to 2020. IRSA was awarded as the best student organization of the year at UNT in 2017. Dr. Barhemmati won the “Outstanding Student of the Year” award in the same year because of her various activities and service in IRSA to promote Persian culture among other nationalities and make a bridge of unity between all students, faculties, and families at UNT and DFW area.