Projects

MURI: The science of entropy stabilized ultra-high temperature materials

Sponsor: Office of Naval Research
Collaborators: Don Brenner (NCSU), Stafano Curtarolo (Duke), Luo (UCSD), Jon Paul Maria (NCSU), Beth Opila (UVA), Kenneth Vecchio (UCSD)
Objectives and approach: Thermal conductivity of high entropy and entropy stabilized ceramics, ultra high temperature thermometry

MURI: Multi-modal energy flow at atomically engineered interfaces

Sponsor: Army Research Office
Collaborators: Jon-Paul Maria (NCSU), Donald Brenner (NCSU), Dana Dlott (UIUC), Gregory Parsons (NCSU), Oleg Prezhdo (USC)
Objectives and approach: Excited electron and plasmon interface scattering using wavelength tunable ultrafast pump-probe measurements; highly nonequilibrium heat transfer across inorganic and organic interfaces.

Nonequilibrium electron and phonon thermal transport driven by external fields: Towards in situ thermal property characterization of active devices

Sponsor: Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Objectives and approach: Spatially and temporally resolved thermal transport in active devices and their interfaces.

Thermal properties of phase change memory

Sponsor: Western Digital Corporation
Objectives and approach: Determine thermal resistances of phase change memory materials and devices using ultrafast pump-probe techniques, quantifying role of thermal boundary resistances and electron-phonon processes.

MURI: Leveraging a new theoretical paradigm to enhance interfacial thermal transport in wide bandgap power electronics

Sponsor: Office of Naval Research
Collaborators: Sam Graham (GaTech), Asegun Henry (MIT), Tengfei Luo (Notre Dame), Mark Goorsky (UCLA), Alan Doolittle (GaTech), Asif Khan (U. South Carolina)
Objectives and approach: Experimentally and computationally study the role of unique interfacial modes of vibration on thermal boundary conductance across wide bandgap interfaces.

EAGER: Chemical Order/Disorder Enabled Phononic Memory in PbSc0.5Ta0.5O3

Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Collaborators: Jon Ihlefeld (UVA)
Objectives and approach: Tunable thermal conductivity measurements on ordered vs. disordered ferroelectric systems.

DMREF/Collaborative Research/GOALI: Accelerating discovery of high entropy silicates for extreme environments

Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Collaborators: Beth Opila (UVA), Jon Ihlefeld (UVA), Cormac Toher (Duke), Adam Chamberlain (Rolls-Royce)
Objectives and approach: Thermal conductivity measurements of high entropy silicates, including development of thermometry techniques in engine-relevant environments.

Bio-Based Phase Change Materials (PCM) for Thermal Energy Storage

Sponsor: Department of Energy, EERE
Collaborators: Ben Allen (Tandem Repeat), Shannon Yee (Ga Tech)
Objectives and approach: Creating energy storage materials for storing waste heat based on squid ring teeth proteins with eventual goal of large scale manufacturing and integration into a building.

Infrared vibrational thermal spectroscopy to study spectral energy coupling across solids in contact with liquids and gases

Sponsor: Office of Naval Research
Objectives and approach: Thermal transport across interfaces comprised of liquids and gases including development of novel pump-probe spectroscopy techniques.

2D and 3D mapping of environmental barrier coating with a thermally grown oxide layer

Sponsor: Rolls-Royce
Objectives and approach: Spatially map the thermal conductivity of environmental barrier coatings in engine-relevant environmental conditions.