jiangyuli's blog

We are pleased to announce the Washington Research Foundation Innovation Fellows Program in Clean Energy (http://www.cei.washington.edu/innovation). With the generous support of the WRF, we have been able to establish a competitive program that will help us recruit some of the most talented clean energy researchers to the UW.  Here are some of the program highlights:

The abstract submission is open now, http://www.mrs.org/spring2015/, and will be due on Oct. 23.

Symposium H: Mechanics of Energy Storage and Conversion─Batteries, Thermoelectrics and Fuel Cells

As advanced energy materials with higher conversion efficiencies, enhanced storage capacities, and better reliabilities are being developed to meet the ever-increasing global energy needs, mechanics has emerged as one of the key factors that affect the performance of energy systems. In thermoelectric energy conversion for waste heat recovery, thermal stress is a big concern for reliabilities, and the efficiency and reliability of photovoltaic materials is similarly affected by strain and mechanical defects.

Please see our recent paper in PNAS if you are interested.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1402909111

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/06/18/1402909111.abstract

Phys.Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 20786

DOI: 10.1039/c3cp52501e

The abstract submission is open from Oct. 1- Nov. 1, 2013, at http://www.mrs.org/spring2014/ 

http://www.mrs.org/spring-2014-call-for-papers-p/

One postdoctoral research associate position is anticipated at the Department of
Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering
at the University of Washington. The successful candidate will work on
developing novel morphing structures using shape memory alloys and thermoelectric
materials, in collaboration with the Boeing Company. The candidate should have
Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, or
related field, have strong experimental experience in smart materials and

 PRL 110, 168101 (2003) http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v110/i16/e168101

2013 International Tutorial Workshop on Piezoresponse Force Microscopy and Nanoscale Electromechanics of Polar Materials

July 6-8, 2013

Nanjing University

Nanjing,China

http://pfm2013.nju.edu.cn/

Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 053905 (2013); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4791684

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position, which will be available at the start of the 2013-2014 academic year. The position is expected to be at the rank of assistant professor, but may be at the rank of associate or full professor for applicants with demonstrated scholarship, including a strong record of securing and conducting externally funded research.

We analyze the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric composites, and conclude that thermoelectric figure of merit ZT as we know it is ill-defined for composites, and is irrelevant for their conversion efficiency. In addition, we prove that thermoelectric conversion efficiency of a composite is not bounded by its constituents, and can be higher than all its constituents in the absence of size and interface effects, in contrast to previous claim.

Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 063901 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4742933 (5 pages)

PRL 108,
078103
(2012),  http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v108/i7/e078103

See also Physics Viewpoint by Bin and Huajian, http://physics.aps.org/articles/v5/19

Inside Science News Service, http://www.insidescience.org/news-service/1.2462

JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 111, 013510 (2012)

Formal announcement is pasted below.

--------------------------------

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position, which will be available at the start of the 2012-2013 academic year. The position will be at the rank of assistant professor or associate professor.

Dear colleagues,

  There are only five days left to submit an abstract to 2011 MRS Spring
Meeting, and we call contributions from mechanics community to Symposium Z: Nanoscale Electromechanics of Inorganic,
Macromolecular, and Biological System. More information about the symposium, including a list of invited speakers, can be found at

We call for contributions from mechanics community to 2011 MRS Spring Meeting Symposium Z: Nanoscale Electromechanics of Inorganic, Macromolecular, and Biological Systems

The abstract submission is open until Nov. 2, 2010, at http://mrsspring2011.abstractcentral.com/

More information about the symposium, including a list of invited speakers, can be found at

Application for travel fellowship is now solicited for US postdocotoral scholars and graduate students to participate 8th International Workshop on Piezoresponse Force Microscopy and Nanoscale Electromechanics of Polar Materials, to be held in Beijing, China, August 25-27, 2010. Detailed information on the workshop can be found at http://www.ustb.edu.cn/materials/files/pfm/index.html.

This is a preprint that is going to appear on Applied Physics Letters. It is somewhat related to a paper by Kaushik Dayal on complex crystalline structure via phase field simulation that was posted here. 

Austenite-Martensite Interface in Shape Memory Alloys

C. H. Lei, L. J. Li, Y. C. Shu, and J. Y. Li

Abstract

This workshop aims
to provide in-depth description and recent advances in piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and nanoscale
electromechanics. It will introduce basic principles of PFM operation, relevant
instrumental aspects, and image interpretation. The theory of cantilever
dynamics, PFM contact mechanics, resolution theory, and their implications for
qualitative and quantitative data interpretation will be presented. The recent
technical advances, including vector PFM, high-frequency PFM, band-excitation
and DRFT imaging, switching spectroscopy PFM, and imaging and polarization
switching in liquids and vacuum, will also be illustrated. For ferroelectric
and multiferroic materials, applications of PFM for domain imaging, nucleation