Stirling Engine Research Regenerator Research CFD Research Sustainable Energy Research Energy for Space Research

Journal Articles


  1. M.E. Konrad, B.D. MacDonald, Cold climate air source heat pumps: Industry progress and thermodynamic analysis of market-available residential units, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 188 (2023) 113739.PDF doi

  2. H.W. Fung, M.A. Mahmud, B.D. MacDonald, Experimental investigation of forced convection on evaporation of continuously-fed sessile droplets, International Journal of Thermal Sciences 175 (2022) 107459.PDF doi

  3. B.T. York, B.D. MacDonald, Influence of misalignment and spacing on the pressure drop through wire mesh Stirling engine regenerators, Energy Conversion and Management 245 (2021) 114588.PDF doi

  4. M.A. Mahmud, E.J.M. Blondeel, B.D. MacDonald, Counting-based microfluidic paper-based devices capable of analysing sub-microliter sample volumes, Biomicrofluidics 14 (2020) 014107.PDF doi

  5. A.S. Nielsen, B.T. York, B.D. MacDonald, Stirling engine regenerators: How to attain over 95% regenerator effectiveness with sub-regenerators and thermal mass ratios, Applied Energy 253 (2019) 113557.PDF doi

  6. S. Ranieri, G.A.O. Prado, B.D. MacDonald, Efficiency reduction in Stirling engines resulting from sinusoidal motion, Energies 11 (2018) 2887.PDF doi

  7. B.D. MacDonald, Flow of liquids through paper, Journal of Fluid Mechanics 852 (2018) 1-4. PDF doi

  1. - Focus on Fluids article.

  1. M.A. Mahmud, E.J.M. Blondeel, M. Kaddoura, B.D. MacDonald, Features in microfluidic paper-based devices made by laser cutting: how small can they be?, Micromachines 9 (2018) 220. PDF doi

  2. R.F. Costa, B.D. MacDonald, Comparison of the net work output between Stirling and Ericsson cycles, Energies 11 (2018) 670. PDF doi

  3. S. Chakraborty, M.A. Rosen, B.D. MacDonald, Analysis and feasibility of an evaporative cooling system with diffusion-based sessile droplet evaporation for cooling microprocessors, Applied Thermal Engineering 125 (2017) 104-110. PDF doi

  4. M.A. Chowdury, N. Walji, M.A. Mahmud, B.D. MacDonald, Paper-based microfluidic device with a gold nanosensor to detect arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh, Micromachines 8 (2017) 71. PDF doi

  1. -Special Issue on Paper Microfluidics: Fundamental Studies and Applications

  1. M.A. Mahmud, B.D. MacDonald, Experimental investigation of interfacial energy transport in an evaporating sessile droplet for evaporative cooling applications, Physical Review E 95 (2017) 012609. PDF doi

  2. M.A. Mahmud, E.J.M. Blondeel, M. Kaddoura, B.D. MacDonald, Creating compact and microscale features in paper-based devices by laser cutting, Analyst 141 (2016) 6449-6454.PDF doi

  3. N. Walji, B.D. MacDonald, Influence of geometry and surrounding conditions on fluid flow in paper-based devices, Micromachines 7 (2016) 73. PDF doi

  1. -Special Issue on Paper-Based Microfluidic Devices for Point-of-Care Diagnostics

  1. M.M. Gong, P. Zhang, B.D. MacDonald, D. Sinton, Nanoporous membranes enable concentration and transport in fully wet paper-based assays, Analytical Chemistry 86 (2014) 8090-8097. PDF doi

  1. -This article was featured as a Research Highlight in Nature Nanotechnology

  1. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, T.V. Nguyen, K.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Lab-in-a-pen: a diagnostics format familiar to patients for low-resource settings, Lab on a Chip 14 (2014) 957-963. PDF doi

  2. B.D. MacDonald, M.M. Gong, P. Zhang, D. Sinton, Out-of-plane ion concentration polarization for scalable water desalination, Lab on a Chip 14 (2014) 681-685. PDF doi

  3. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, T.V. Nguyen, K.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Field tested millilitre-scale blood filtration device for point-of-care applications, Biomicrofluidics 7 (2013) 044111. PDF doi

  4. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Hand-powered microfluidics: A membrane pump with a patient-to-chip syringe interface, Biomicrofluidics 6 (2012) 044102. PDF doi

  5. B.D. MacDonald, C.A. Ward, Onset of Marangoni convection for evaporating sessile droplets, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 383 (2012) 198-207. PDF doi

  6. B.D. MacDonald, C.A. Ward, Onset of Marangoni convection for evaporating liquids with spherical interfaces and finite boundaries, Physical Review E 84 (2011) 046319. PDF doi

  1. Erratum: Physical Review E 84 (2011) 059906. PDF doi

  1. K. Das, B.D. MacDonald, C.A. Ward, Stability of evaporating water heated through the vapor and the liquid phases, Physical Review E 81 (2010) 036318. PDF doi

  2. W. Li, H. Pham, Z. Nie, B.D. MacDonald, A. Guenther, E. Kumacheva, Multi-step microfluidic polymerization reactions conducted in droplets: The internal trigger approach, Journal of the American Chemical Society 130 (2008) 9935-9941. PDF doi

  3. B.D. MacDonald, A. Rowe, Experimental and numerical analysis of dynamic metal hydride hydrogen storage systems, Journal of Power Sources 174 (2007) 282-293. PDF doi

  4. B.D. MacDonald, A. Rowe, A thermally coupled metal hydride hydrogen storage and fuel cell system, Journal of Power Sources 161 (2006) 346-355. PDF doi

  5. B.D. MacDonald, A. Rowe, Impacts of external heat transfer enhancements on metal hydride storage tanks, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 31 (2006) 1721-1731. PDF doi


Conference Presentations


  1. A.S. Nielsen, B.T. York, B.D. MacDonald, How to attain regenerator effectiveness greater than 50% in Stirling engines, Proceedings of the 5th World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering (MCM 19), Lisbon, Portugal, August 2019. (Oral presentation by A.S. Nielsen)

  2. A.S. Nielsen, B.T. York, B.D. MacDonald, Influence of regenerator thermal mass ratio on Stirling engine efficiency, Proceedings of the 6th International Conference of Fluid Flow, Heat and Mass Transfer (FFHMT 19), Ottawa, Canada, June 2019. (Oral presentation by A.S. Nielsen)

  3. M.J.T. Crowley, B.D. MacDonald, Transport and concentration of human antibodies in paper-based devices utilizing ion concentration polarization, 2nd International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics, and Lab-on-a-Chip, Beijing, China, June 2018. (Oral presentation by M.J.T. Crowley)

  4. H.W. Fung, B.D. MacDonald, Experimental investigation of forced convection on an evaporating sessile droplet, 2nd International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics, and Lab-on-a-Chip, Beijing, China, June 2018. (Poster presentation by H.W. Fung)

  5. M.A. Mahmud, E.J.M. Blondeel, M. Kaddoura, B.D. MacDonald, Microscale features and size limitations in microfluidic paper-based analytical devices, 13th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, Toronto, ON, May 2018. (Poster presentation by M.A. Mahmud)

  6. H.W. Fung, B.D. MacDonald, Experimental investigation of forced convection on an evaporating sessile droplet, 9th Annual Graduate Student Research Conference, UOIT, Oshawa, ON, May 2018. (Poster presentation by H.W. Fung)

  7. M.A. Mahmud, B.D. MacDonald, Experimental investigation of interfacial phenomena in an evaporating sessile droplet for evaporative cooling applications, 69th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), Portland, OR, November 2016. (Oral presentation)

  8. M.A. Mahmud, B.D. MacDonald, Experimental investigation of interfacial phenomena in an evaporating sessile droplet for evaporative cooling applications, International Conference of Microfluidics, Nanofluidics, and Lab-on-a-Chip, Dalian, China, June 2016. (Oral presentation)

  9. M. Chowdury, N. Walji, M.A. Mahmud, B.D. MacDonald, Paper-based microfluidic device for arsenic detection in Bangladesh, 11th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, Toronto, ON, May 2016. (Invited talk)

  10. M. Chowdury, N. Walji, M.A. Mahmud, B.D. MacDonald, Paper-based microfluidic device for high sensitivity arsenic detection using gold nanoparticles, 11th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, Toronto, ON, May 2016. (Poster presentation by M. Chowdury)

  11. N. Walji, B.D. MacDonald, Increasing accessibility of analytical chemistry innovations using microfluidic paper-based analytical devices, 6th Annual Graduate Research Conference, UOIT, Oshawa, ON, April 2015. (Oral presentation by N. Walji)

  12. N. Walji, B.D. MacDonald, Characterization of fluid flow in paper-based microfluidic systems, 67th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), San Francisco, CA, November 2014. (Oral presentation by N. Walji)

  13. M.A. Mahmud, H. Wu, B.D. MacDonald, Harnessing surface tension forces in evaporating sessile droplets to improve efficiency of evaporative cooling systems, Connaught Symposium: Bio-Inspired Ideas for Sustainable Energy, Toronto, ON, October 2014. (Poster presentation by M.A. Mahmud)

  14. M.M. Gong, P. Zhang, B.D. MacDonald, D. Sinton, Nanoporous membranes enable concentration and transport in fully wet paper-based assays, 18th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (MicroTAS), San Antonio, TX, October 2014. (Poster presentation by M.M. Gong)

  15. B.D. MacDonald, M.M. Gong, P. Zhang, D. Sinton, Life after wetting: Active concentration and transport in paper-based microfluidic devices using ion concentration polarization, 66th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), Pittsburgh, PA, November 2013. (Oral presentation)

  16. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, K.V. Nguyen, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Sample collection and processing for multiplexed blood-based point-of-care analysis, Point-of-care Diagnostics Meeting, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Campus, Seattle, WA, September 2013. (Oral presentation by M.M. Gong)

  17. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, K.V. Nguyen, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Developing blood-based diagnostic components in Vietnam, Engineering Global Health Symposium, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, April 2013. (Oral presentation by D. Sinton)

  18. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, K.V. Nguyen, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Sample collection and processing for multiplexed blood-based point-of-care analysis, Grand Challenges Meeting, Grand Challenges Canada, Ottawa, Canada, December 2012. (Poster presentation)

  19. B.D. MacDonald, M.M. Gong, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Hand-powered microfluidics: A membrane pump with a patient-to-chip syringe interface, 65th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), San Diego, CA, November 2012. (Oral presentation)

  20. B.D. MacDonald, M.M. Gong, G. Pham, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Side-by-side testing of a high throughput blood separation device at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 7th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, May 2012, and MIE Research Symposium, June 2012. (Poster presentation)

  21. P. Zhang, B.D. MacDonald, D. Sinton, Energy efficient high throughput water purification device using ion concentration polarization, 7th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, May 2012, and MIE Research Symposium, June 2012. (Poster presentation by P. Zhang)

  22. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, G. Pham, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, High throughput blood separation device for multiplexed point-of-care applications, 7th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, May 2012, and MIE Research Symposium, June 2012. [M.M. Gong awarded best poster at the MIE Research Symposium]

  23. G. Pham, M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Development of a biochemistry assay to asses liver health on a microfluidic device, 7th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, May 2012, and MIE Research Symposium, June 2012. [G. Pham awarded "Innovation most likely to be commercialized" poster award at Ontario-on-a-chip]

  24. T.D. Van, B.D. MacDonald, M.M.Gong, G. Pham, K.V. Nguyen, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Sample collection and processing for multiplexed blood-based point-of-care analysis, Mekong Sante International Conference, Hanoi, Vietnam, May 2012. (Poster presentation by T.D. Van)

  25. T.V. Nguyen, B.D. MacDonald, D. Sinton, Sample collection and processing for multiplexed blood-based point-of-care analysis, Point-of-care Diagnostics Meeting, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Campus, Seattle, WA, May 2012. (Oral presentation by T.V. Nguyen)

  26. B.D. MacDonald, C.A. Ward, Onset of Marangoni convection for evaporating liquids with spherical interfaces and finite boundaries, 64th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD), Baltimore, MD, November 2011. (Oral presentation)

  27. M.M. Gong, B.D. MacDonald, G. Pham, T.V. Nguyen, D. Sinton, Sample collection and processing for multiplexed blood-based point-of-care analysis, Grand Challenges Meeting, Grand Challenges Canada, New Delhi, India, November 2011. (Poster presentation by M.M. Gong)

  28. B.D. MacDonald, C.A. Ward, Discovery of a single parameter for predicting onset of a Bénard-Marangoni instability, MIE Research Symposium, Toronto, ON, May 2011. *(Awarded best oral presentation)

  29. B.D. MacDonald, A. Rowe, J. Tomlinson, J. Ho, Impacts of external convection on release rates in metal hydride hydrogen storage tanks, International Green Energy Conference, Waterloo, ON, June 2005. (Oral presentation)


Invited Talks


  1. B.D. MacDonald, Ekstera - Electricity generation from any heat source, Tri-Association Manufacturing Conference (Northumberland, Quinte, and Kawartha), Lunch Spotlight, Virtual Event, October 2020.

  2. B.D. MacDonald, Sustainable energy from engines: Stirling engine design enhancements, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, January 2020.

  3. B.D. MacDonald, Stirling and Ericsson engines for rail, CUTRIC - Transport Canada Rail Innovation Initiative - Session #1: Alternative Propulsion Systems, Kingston, ON, November 2018.

  4. M. Chowdury, N. Walji, M.A. Mahmud B.D. MacDonald, Paper-based microfluidic device for arsenic detection in Bangladesh, 11th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip, Toronto, ON, May 2016.

  5. B.D. MacDonald, Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Hepatitis B in Vietnam, Guest Lecture for APS 530H: Appropriate Technology & Design for Global Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, February 2013.

  6. B.D. MacDonald, Developing sustainable energy technologies using interfaces, phase change, and microfluidics, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, October 2012.

  7. B.D. MacDonald, The role of phase change in alternative energy applications, Research Group of Professor A. Mitsos, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, March 2011.


Newspaper Articles


  1. B.D. MacDonald, High Speed Train Route is First Step, Toronto Star, Opinion Section, February 26, 2007. PDF