Symposium EN08-Advancements in Thermoelectric Materials, Module Technology and Applications

The development of sustainable, efficient energy generation technologies is at the forefront of current research efforts. One such technology is thermoelectrics, a process that can convert heat into electricity. Recent advances in synthesis, characterization, and modeling have led to the creation of materials with thermoelectric figures of merit approaching zT = 3, a significant improvement over the traditional TEGs materials based on Bi-Te with limits around zT = 1. One of the main advantages of thermoelectric technology is its ability to recover wasted heat, which can contribute to counteracting the energy crisis. However, the lack of appropriate thermoelectric generators and coolers for different temperature ranges has limited their applications so far.

The proposed symposium will discuss the latest developments regarding thermoelectric materials, new approaches to predict thermal and electronic transport in complex materials, and the translation of these advances into working generators. It will target the international community of researchers and engineers working on thermoelectric technologies, from academia to industry. The symposium will focus on material issues, such as synthesis, transport properties, phase stability, and phase transformations of high-performance thermoelectrics, but also on the development of thermoelectric modules, generators and devices, and will deal with technological challenges related to joining techniques, stability issues, optimization of thermal and electrical resistances, effective design principles, construction methods and thermal management aspects. Additionally, TEG applications will also be covered by the symposium.

Topics will include:

Advanced synthesis and characterization of thermoelectric materials: novel enhancements of bulk, thin film, heterostructures, and nanostructures.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for the prediction of thermoelectric materials
Modeling and simulations of electronic and phononic transport
Translation of materials into working thermoelectric modules: fabrication, design, electrical and thermal contacts, and mechanical aspects
Thermal management aspects
Advances in applications, ranging from energy harvesting for the Internet of Things, to mid and high- temperature energy saving waste heat recovery and refrigeration

Invited Speakers:

Thierry Caillat (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA)
Lidong Chen (Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
In Chung (Seoul National University, Republic of Korea)
Johannes de Boor (German Aerospace Center, Germany)
Elif Ertekin (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA)
Jiaqing He (Southern University of Science and Technology, China)
Ran He (Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden, Germany)
Mercouri Kanatzidis (Northwestern University, USA)
Tsutomu Kanno (Panasonic Corporation, Japan)
Susan Kauzlarich (University of California, Santa Barbara, USA)
Theodora Kyratsi (University of Cyprus, Cyprus)
Saniya LeBlanc (George Washington University, USA)
Lucas lindsay (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA)
Koji Miyazaki (Kyushu University, Japan)
Aktoshi Natano (Nagoya University, Japan)
Neophytos Neophytou (University of Warwick, United Kingdom)
Zhifeng Ren (University of Houston, USA)
Jeff Snyder (Northwestern University, USA)
Lilia Woods (University of South Florida, USA)
Jihui Yang (University of Washington, USA)