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227-0622-00L 4 Credits MSC D-HEST , D-MAVT , D-PHYS , D-MATH , D-ITET

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Applications of Thermal Modeling: From Hot Atoms to Heated Tissues

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Dr. Mathieu Luisier, Dr. Esra Neufeld

VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:08:05

Abstract

How about leveraging heat to cure cancer or to solve today’s energy crisis? Computational simulation of heat-related phenomena from the atomic-scale to living organisms is key to achieve these goals and will be at the core of this multidisciplinary course. The necessary physics, modeling, and computing background will be covered, from theory to practical implementations in concrete applications.

Objective

During this course students will: - learn the physics governing the formation and propagation of heat in solids and living human tissues; - discover how heat can be used in personalised cancer therapies or in thermoelectric applications to produce reusable energy; - develop computational models describing electromagnetically-induced heating; - get familiar with computational simulation techniques across a wide range of spatial scales, incl. methods for simulating in vivo heating, considering thermoregulation and perfusion, or more fundamental approaches that consider heat at the level of atomic vibrations; - implement and apply simulation techniques within a state-of-the-art open-source simulation platform for computational life sciences, and a framework for computer-aided design of nanoscale electronic devices; - learn about practical aspects related to performance-critical coding and numerics for computational simulations; - work on two small projects applying the theoretical concepts presented during the lectures to two specific real-world applications where heat modeling is required; - learn about current challenges of high social relevance associated with heat modeling.

Content

The following topics will be covered: - introduction to electromagnetic heating, from its social relevance and history to its application in biology and electronics; - personalised therapies relying on local heating; - thermoelectricity (production of electricity from heat gradients); - microscopic/macroscopic thermal transport including governing equations, numerical methods to solve them, and applications; - numerical algorithms and their implementation, shared and distributed parallelization approaches and pitfalls, use of graphics processing units (GPUs) for hardware acceleration, and solutions for high performance computing; - usage of the Sim4Life simulation platform (therapy planning) and of the OMEN technology computer aided design tool (device simulation) as practical examples; - odel verification and validation.

Resources

Lecture Notes

Lecture slides are distributed every week and can be found athttps://iis-students.ee.ethz.ch/lectures/thermal-modeling/

General Information

Language: English
Levels: MSC
Frequency: Yearly recurring

Examination

Type: session examination
Mode: oral 30 minutes

Course Components

Type	Title	Time & Place	Hours
lecture with exercise	Applications of Thermal Modeling: From Hot Atoms to Heated Tissues	Wed 09:15-12:00 (ETZ J 91)	3 h weekly

Offered In

Biomedical Engineering Master
- Major Courses
  - Bioelectronics
    - Recommended Elective Courses (These courses are particularly recommended for the Bioelectronics track. Please consult your track adviser if you wish to select other subjects.)
Computational Science and Engineering Master
- Fields of Specialization
  - Electromagnetics (recognition of 227-0662-00L and 227-0662-10L requires the successful completion of both course units)
Micro- and Nanosystems Master
- Core Courses
  - Elective Core Courses
Electrical Engineering and Information Technology Master
- Master Studies (Programme Regulations 2018)
  - Electronics and Photonics (The core courses and specialization courses below are a selection for students who wish to specialize in the area of "Electronics and Photonics", see . The individual study plan is subject to the tutor's approval.)
    - Specialization Courses (These specialization courses are particularly recommended for the area of "Electronics and Photonics", but you are free to choose courses from any other field in agreement with your tutor. A minimum of 40 credits must be obtained from specialization courses during the Master's Programme.)
- Master Studies (Programme Regulations 2008)
  - Major Courses (A total of 42 CP must be achieved form courses during the Master Program. The individual study plan is subject to the tutor's approval.)
    - Electronics and Photonics
      - Recommended Subjects (These courses are recommended, but you are free to choose courses from any other special field. Please consult your tutor.)