Heremans' Paper Published By Nature Nanotechnology

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In a paper just published by Nature Nanotechnology, Mechanical Engineering and Physics Professor Joseph Heremans and his co-authors explain the progress that has been made in developing scalable thermoelectric material systems over the course of the past two decades.  Thermoelectric energy conversion is an all solid-state technology that lets heat do electrical work, like steam turbines do in electrical power plants, but on a much smaller scale and without any moving parts. By rewinding the clock to 1993, the paper, titled "When thermoelectrics reached the nanoscale," reminds us of the initial theoretical research in quantum mechanics and nanostructuring of thermoelectric materials undertaken by Mildred Dresselhaus and Lyndon Hicks. From that point, an explanation follows about the ongoing effort to further research, scale and fabricate high-efficiency thermoelectrics for practical use in a number of commonly engineered electrical power generation, heating, and cooling applications. As Heremans explains, commercial application for some intended uses hit significant roadblocks while others continue to hold promise, including perhaps applications that may one day align with methods for fighting climate change. A clear focus for today's researchers is to create nanoscale structures that revolutionize the way thermoelectric materials work and new ways to engineer the motion of electrons in the materials. By Heremans' estimation, the progress in commercializing thermoelectric devices is not untypical of work that has fundamentally shifted the direction of a field, as is happening here. Materials advancements and nanoscale technologies have altered system efficiencies and opened new avenues of research and product development.

Along with Professor Heremans, who is also an Ohio Eminent Scholar and National Academy of Engineering member, the authors credited for their contribution to the paper include: MIT Institute Professor Mildred S. Dresselhaus, advisor to Heremans when he was a visiting scientist at MIT in 1980 and 1981; Dr. Lon E. Bell, founder of Amerigon Inc, now Gentherm, the largest producer of thermoelectric products in the world, and sponsor of Heremans' research since he arrived at Ohio State; and Professor Donald T. Morelli, one of Heremans' co-workers at GM, who is now in the Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Department at Michigan State University.

To view the article, please visit Nature Nanotechnology.
Category: Faculty