Symposium LL: Energy Harvesting--From Fundamentals to Devices

Energy harvesting is a broad topic, which includes the established methods such as photovoltaics and thermoelectrics, as well as more recent energy harvesting technologies such as converting mechanical energy, magnetic energy, and waste heat to electricity. This symposium will explore various state-of-the-art materials and devices for direct energy conversion, from thermal-to-electric to multistep-energy-conversion technologies including thermionics, thermoacoustics, and compound thermoelectrics. The symposium intends to highlight both the fundamental material science underlying energy harvesting devices, as well as device-design innovations that lead to higher efficiency energy harvesting or conversion technologies. In addition, potential applications for these technologies will be discussed with the emphasis on tying specific material properties, issues, and needs to desired applications ranging from the cm/mm scale down to MEMS devices. The symposium will highlight the multidisciplinary nature of the research (materials science, physics, chemistry, and applied engineering) necessary to advance the field. Theoretical studies to address transport properties, crystal chemistry, thermodynamic analysis, energy transfer, system efficiency, and device operation will be discussed. New developments in experimental methods, device design and fabrication, solid-state synthesis, nanostructure material fabrication, and material property and device performance measurement techniques will be emphasized in this symposium.

Session topics include:

• Advanced concepts in photovoltaic materials
• Advanced concepts in thermoelectric materials
• Nanostructured materials for energy harvesting applications
• Compound thermoelectric, thermionic, and thermoacoustic materials
• Application of multiferroic materials to energy harvesting
• Computational design of new materials for thermoelectric and photovoltaic devices
• Innovative devices for harvesting mechanical, magnetic, solar, and low-quality waste heat
• Modeling the efficiency of energy-harvesting devices

Invited speakers include (partial list): Dave Bahr (Washington State Univ.), Greg Carman (Univ. of California-Los Angeles), Gang Chen (Massachusetts Inst. of Technology), Nancy Dudney (Oak Ridge National Lab), Leif Hammarström (Uppsala Univ., Sweden), Larry Olsen (Pacific Northwest National Lab), Jiankang Huang (Ferro Solutions, Inc.), Dan Inman (Virginia Tech), Mercouri Kanatzidis (Northwestern Univ.), Laura H. Lewis (Northeastern Univ.), Jeff Snyder (California Inst. of Technology/Jet Propulsion Lab), Zhong Wang (Georgia Inst. of Technology), and Andrew Williamson (Lawrence Livermore National Lab).

Partial graduate support may be available. For information, please contact Harry Radousky at the e-mail address below.

Symposium Organizers

Harry Radousky
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University Relations Program, Univ. of California-Davis, Dept. of Physics, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94551
Tel 925-422-4478, Fax 925-422-3519, radousky1 [at] llnl [dot] gov

James Holbery
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Energy Science & Technology Directorate, MS K5-22, (902 Battelle Blvd.), P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99352
Tel 509-375-3686, Fax 509-375-2379, james [dot] holbery [at] pnl [dot] gov

Bob O'Handley
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ferro Solutions, 215 First St., Cambridge, MA 02142
Tel 617-253-6913, Fax 617-253-9657, bobohand [at] mit [dot] edu

Nicholas Kioussis
California State University-Northridge, Dept. of Physics, W. M. Keck Computational Materials Theory Center, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge, CA 91330
Tel 818-677-7733, Fax 818-677-6330, nick [dot] kioussis [at] csun [dot] edu