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Research
DOE awards Clemson University $3 million
RESEARCH FOCUSED ON NEXT GENERATION
OF POWER CONVERSION MATERIALS
 Clemson
University physicists will use a $3 million grant to investigate
the electrical and thermal properties of new materials that could
reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. The grant, funded
by the U.S. Department of Energy and the South Carolina EPSCoR/IDeA
(Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and Institutional
Development Awards) Program, will establish the Center of Excellence
in Thermoelectric Materials Research.
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Dr. Terry Tritt, (seated)
is working with graduate student, Nicoleta Sorloaica, to investigate
the electrical and thermal properties of new materials that
could reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. |
This
national research center will focus on the next generation of thermoelectric
materials for power conversion and refrigeration, according to Dr.
Terry M. Tritt, the physics professor who will guide the project.
The DOE grant will enable Clemson to enhance equipment and faculty.
Novel
solid-state materials are currently being investigated by several
groups in the United States, with the goal of achieving higher performance
thermoelectric materials. Thermoelectric materials and devices are
used to generate energy from heat.
Tritt
heads Clemson’s Complex and Advanced Materials Laboratory,
considered one of the leading laboratories for thermoelectric materials
in the world. He serves as a consultant to both international and
national companies who have an interest in thermoelectric materials
development. The laboratory has been funded primarily by the DOE
and the Department of Defense.
Other
Clemson faculty members involved in the project include Dr. Joseph
Kolis in chemistry, and, from physics and astronomy, Dr. Apparao
Rao, Dr. Murray Daw and department chair Peter Barnes, Ph.D.
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