Dr. Yanliang Zhang, Boise State University
April 6 @ 11 a.m. – noon ETRL 101
Refreshments will begin at 10:30 a.m. in ETRL 119
Thermal transport and thermoelectric energy conversion- Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Systems
The School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering is hosting a seminar presented by Dr. Yanliang Zhang, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, at Boise State University.
Biography:
Yanliang Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Boise State University. He received Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2011, and spent over one year in industry prior to his current faculty position. He is a recipient of NSF Career Award in 2017, an IBM fellowship award in 2008-2010, and multiple best paper awards from international conferences. Dr. Zhang’s research has been sponsored by competitive funding awards from Department of Energy and National Science Foundation, and he has directed several multi-institutional research projects. Dr. Zhang’s research work has been published on numerous scientific journals of high impact, and his publications have received over 600 citations in the past 6 years.
Abstract:
Advanced manufacturing methods have led to many scientific and technology advancments in new materials and devices for thermal transport and energy conversion applications. This presentation will discuss additive manufacturing and scalable nanomanufacturing methods to fabricate novel materials and devices and control thermal and thermoelectric transport properties with broad applications in thermal energy conversion and thermal management.This presentation will cover three important topics. First, I will present our fundamental study on thermal and thermoelectric transport properties in nanostructured materials fabricated using scalable nanomanufacturing methods, which have led to significant increases in thermoelectric figure of merit ZT. Second, I will discuss novel additive manufacturing and interface engineering methods to fabricate efficient and flexible thermoelectric devices using colloidal nanocrystals which resulted in unprecedented high power density and ultralow cost. Finally, I will talk about the design, modeling and manufacturing of high-performance nanostructured thermoelectric generator systems for thermal energy harvesting applications. The above research breakthroughs are on track to create a sustainable and commercially viable technology for automotive, industrial, electronics, and personal energy harvesting and thermal management applications.
