Electrical & Computer Engineering

Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Delaware
The University of Delaware, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

 

Professor Zide receives DARPA funding to study new nanocomposites for power generation

 

Professor Joshua Zide is a Principle Investigator of a collaboration of ten research groups at seven institutions who have recently received funding from the Defense Sciences Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA-DSO) to study nanostructured materials for efficient thermoelectric power generation.

The interdisciplinary research team is led by Zide’s collaborator, Ali Shakouri at UC Santa Cruz and includes research groups from UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, Purdue University, MIT, and BSST, Inc. in addition to Zide’s group at UD. The goal of the project is to improve the efficiency of nanocomposite materials which are used to convert thermal to electrical energy. Prof. Zide will “grow” new nanocomposites materials with the molecular beam epitaxy system he will be installing in the DuPont cleanroom and characterize them in his lab.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to conduct this research here at UD,” Zide said. “Thermoelectric power generation is an outstanding technology for waste heat recovery, and improving the efficiency will make it more competitive for a variety of applications. At the same time, thermoelectric materials and devices offer many unique challenges and opportunities. As we grow new materials, I expect that my students and I will make many interesting discoveries along the way.” The program is expected to last three years for an anticipated total of $6.8 million.

 

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