Microscopic Energy Transport in Emerging Quantum Materials

Feb
9

Microscopic Energy Transport in Emerging Quantum Materials

Prof. Bolin Liao, University of California at Santa Barbara

3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m., February 9, 2021   |   Zoom

Contact Carly Reynolds for Zoom link

The emergence of topological materials in the past decade has provided new opportunities to realize unique functionalities in energy harvesting and transport applications. However, the understanding of microscopic energy transport and conversion processes in these materials is still limited.

In this talk, Prof. Bolin Liao will discuss his team’s recent computational and experimental efforts to understand phonon transport and electron-phonon coupling in topological materials.

Bolin Liao

He will discuss their understanding of the anomalous phonon softening in topological Dirac and Weyl semimetals due to singular electron-phonon coupling and their potential use for thermoelectric energy conversion. Prof. Liao will also be describing their development of a scanning ultrafast electron microscope (SUEM) that can directly image microscopic energy transport processes with combined high spatial and temporal resolutions. He will conclude by providing his perspectives on future opportunities to use topological materials for renewable energy applications.

Prof. Bolin Liao is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UCSB. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from MIT in 2016 and was a Kavli postdoc scholar at Caltech from 2016 to 2017. His research focuses on the fundamental understanding of microscopic energy transport in emerging quantum materials and their potential application in next-generation energy systems. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and DOE Early Career Award.

Contact Carly Reynolds for Zoom link.