Milivoje M. Kostic, Ph.D., P.Eng., Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Northern Illinois University, is a notable researcher and scholar in energy fundamentals and applications, including nanotechnology, with emphasis on conservation, environment and sustainability. He graduated with the University of Belgrade highest distinction (the highest GPA in ME program history), obtained Ph.D. at University of Illinois at Chicago as a Fulbright scholar, appointed as NASA faculty fellow, and Fermi and Argonne National Laboratories faculty researcher. Professor Kostic also worked in industry and has authored a number of patents and professional publications, including invited articles in prestigious energy encyclopedias. He has a number of professional awards and recognitions, is a frequent plenary speaker at international conferences and at different educational and public institutions, as well as member of several professional societies and scientific advisory boards. More at www.kostic.niu.edu *** AND ***

The Grand Law of Nature: The universe consists of local material (mass-energy) structures in forced equilibrium and their interactions via forced fields. The forces are balanced at any time (including inertial - process rate forces) thus conserving momentum, while charges/mass and energy are transferred and conserved during forced displacement in space all the times, but energy is degraded (dissipated) as it is redistributed (transferred) from higher to lower non-equilibrium potential towards equilibrium (equi-partition of energy)-
   There is ‘energy’ (or 'mass-energy' as the building block of existence) which is conserved while transferred during forced interactive displacement (subject of the First Law of Thermodynamics: energy cannot be destroyed nor generated from nowhere); and, there is ‘useful energy’ or 'work potential' as measure of non-equilibrium, which is the cause-and-effect of forcing energy transfer from higher to lower energy density/potential (subject of the Second Law of Thermodynamics: non-equilibrium is irreversibly dissipated in time towards equilibrium and cannot be generated from nowhere, i.e., the useful work potential is irreversibly converted to heat, and thus entropy is always generated and in limit conserved but cannot be destroyed, the latter not to be confused with local entropy decrease on the expense of increase elsewhere).
  During forced energy transfer a part (and ultimately all) of the useful energy is dissipated (irreversibly converted into the thermal energy with the corresponding entropy generation), but in limit, the non-equilibrium (work potential) may be conserved during reversible processes, including localized increase of energy density/potential on the expense of decrease elsewhere (forcing advantage) * See also Mass-energy transfer and PMMs (by M. Kostic)  ... Read More
The spontaneous forced tendency of mass-energy transfer is due to a difference or non-equilibrium in space of the mass-energy space-density or mass-energy-potential. As mass-energy is transferred from higher to lower potential, and thus conserved, the lower mass-energy potential is increased on the expense of the higher potential until the two equalize, i.e., until a lasting equilibrium is established. THAT explains a process tendency towards the common equilibrium and impossibility of otherwise (impossibility of spontaneous creation of non-equilibrium) ... Read More
DEFINITION of ENERGY: Energy is a fundamental property of a physical system and refers to its potential to maintain a system identity or structure (forced mass-energy field in space) and to influence changes (via forced-displacement interactions) with other systems by imparting work (forced directional displacement) or heat (forced chaotic displacement/motion of a system molecular or related structures). Energy exists in many forms: electromagnetic (including light), electrical, magnetic, nuclear, chemical, thermal, and mechanical (including kinetic, elastic, gravitational, and sound) ... Energy is the ‘‘building block’’ and fundamental property of matter and space and, thus, the fundamental property of existence. Energy exchanges or transfers are associated with all processes (or changes) and, thus, are indivisible from time. If all energy is literally expelled from a confined space, then nothing, empty space will be left. As long as any matter is left it will contain the energy - even at zero absolute temperature the electrons will be orbiting around very energetic nucleus. Matter is and must be energetic, E=mc^{^2}, thus literally, "energy is everything," no energy, nothing in the space. The mass and energy are manifestation of each other and are equivalent; they have a holistic meaning of mass-energy.  (see also Definition of Entropy and The 2nd Law). Definitions ►Grand Law►Energy►2nd Law►Entropy*Engineering Challenges (2010 Events)

Professor Kostic's teaching and research interests are in Thermodynamics (a science of energy, the Mother of All Sciences), Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer and related fluid-thermal-energy sciences; with emphases on physical comprehension and creative design, experimental methods with computerized data acquisition, and CFD simulation; including nanotechnology and development of new-hybrid, POLY-nanofluids with enhanced properties, as well as development, analysis and optimization of fluids-thermal-energy components and systems in power-conversion, utilizations, manufacturing and material processing. Dr. Kostic came to Northern Illinois University from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he supervised and conducted a two-year research program in heat transfer and viscoelastic fluid flows, after working for some time in industry.

"Kostic’s unique synergy of philosophical, theoretical, computational and experimental approach, results in open mind, intense curiosity and sharp focus for identifying and analyzing natural and engineering phenomena with high motivation for problem identification, troubleshooting and solving."

Kostic graduated  in 1975 (Dipl-Ing degree) with the University of Belgrade highest distinction (the highest GPA in ME program history). Then he worked as a researcher in thermal engineering and combustion at Belgrade-Vinca Institute for Nuclear Sciences, which then hosted the headquarters of the International Center for Heat and Mass Transfer, and later taught at the University of Belgrade in Serbia, ex-Yugoslavia (*). He came to the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1981 as a Fulbright grantee, where he received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 1984. Subsequently, Dr. Kostic worked several years in industry. In addition, he spent three summers as an exchange visitor in England, West Germany, and the former Soviet Union.

Dr. Kostic has received recognized professional fellowships and awards, including multiple citations in Marquis' "Who's Who in the World," "Who's Who in America," "Who's Who in American Education," and "Who's Who in Science and Engineering"; the Fulbright Grant; NASA Faculty Fellowship; Sabbatical Semester at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory as a Guest Scientist; and the summer Faculty Research Participation Program at Argonne National Laboratory. He is a frequent reviewer of professional works and books in Thermodynamics and Experimental Methods. Dr. Kostic is a licensed professional engineer (PE or P.Eng.) in Illinois and a member of the ASME, ASEE, and AIP's Society of Rheology. He has a number of publications in refereed journals, including invited state-of-the-art chapters in the Academic Press series Advances in Heat Transfer, Volume 19, and "Viscosity" in  CRC Press' Measurement, Instrumentation and Sensors Handbook; as well as invited reference articles: Work, Power, and Energy in Academic Press/Elsevier's Encyclopedia of Energy; Extrusion Die Design in Dekker's  Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing; and Energy: Global and Historical Background, and Physics of Energy, both in Taylor & Francis/CRC Press Encyclopedia of Energy Engineering and Technology. Professor Kostic is a senior member of the Graduate Faculty at Northern Illinois University (See C-Vita for more information).

Let's turn Ideas into Reality! * Be aware of complexity but make it simple!
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Thermodynamics, a science of energy, is the Mother of All Sciences!

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