Damena joined the faculty at Washingon University in St. Louis in 2016. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2012. His research interest include the areas of Nanofluidics and Nanoscale Interfacial Transport Phenomena, which have several applications including chemical sensing and two-phase cooling technology. Damena Agonafer is currently working on phase separation for low surface energy liquids utilizing engineered porous media for extreme heat transfer applications. In addition to his main focus in nanoscale-interfacial transport, he has also worked in the design of efficient micro-total analysis systems (μTAS). As a PhD candidate, Damena was the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan fellowship award.