This symposium will broadly cover emerging energy conversion materials that exhibit ubiquitous mechano-thermo-electrical coupling effects. Emerging thermoelectric, baro/elasto/electrocaloric, and piezoelectric materials have shown great promises in energy conversion applications, in addition to mechanically-tunable thermal and electrical performance. Although these materials originate differently in their energy conversion pathways, they share fundamental similarities as reflected from the inherent mechano-thermo-electrical coupled effects among them. The first part of the symposium will focus on the state-of-art theoretical and computational methods in understanding these coupled effects, and the second part will focus on new experimental characterization techniques. A key focus in the first part will be on significant renaissance in theoretical approaches to understand, predict, and optimize the coupling between two or more effects in energy materials, with an ultimate goal to enhance the energy conversion performance. Theoretical and computational tools involving electronic, atomic, molecular, and continuum-level simulations are welcomed. A key focus in the second part will be on new experimental characterization techniques to interrogate the mechano-thermo-electrical coupled effects. In situ or ultrahigh spatiotemporal resolution experimental characterizations to advance our understanding of mechano-thermo-electrical coupling to improve energy conversion performance are welcomed.

elastic properties electrical properties electron-phonon interactions energy generation in situ metrology piezoresponse thermal conductivity thermoelectricity