So, What does Nanotechnology have to do with Energy?
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Date: 04-21-2006
Start Time:
10:00am
End Time: 11:00am
Speaker: Gang Chen
From:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: 233 Mudd
Hosted by:
Center for Integrated Science
Abstract:
Nanotechnology focuses on small scale effects. Energy is a global
issue. Despite such disparities, there is a growing awareness that
nanoscience and nanotechnology can have a profound impact on energy
generation, storage, and utilization by exploiting the significant
differences of energy states and transport between nanostructures and
macrostructures. In this talk, I will begin with a few examples
regarding the exploitation of nanoscale effects for solar energy
conversion, hydrogen storage, and will move on to the exploration of
size effects for thermoelectric energy conversion. We will show that by
exploring the interface scattering of electrons and phonons, the
thermoelectric figure of merit can be improved in nanocomposites.
Recent work on characterization of thermoelectric properties of
individual nanowires and nanotubes will also be discussed.
Dr. Gang Chen received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1993. He taught at
Duke University (1993-1997), UCLA (1997-2001) and is currently a
professor at MIT. His research interests are on nanoscale transport
phenomena, particularly thermal energy transport, and their
applications in energy and information technologies. He is a recipient
of the NSF Young Investigator Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He
serves on the editorial board of four journals covering heat transfer
and nanotechnology, and chairs the advisory board of ASME
Nanotechnology Institute.