Our Mission:
Our research is to push the frontiers of thermal energy transport, conversion, and storage in complex systems to extremes. Specifically, we target materials properties for ultra-high temperatures (1000-3000 °C), ultra-low temperatures (-270 °C), ultra-high thermal conductivity (2000 W/mK), ultra-low thermal conductivity (<0.01 W/mK), ultra-high power density, and ultra-fast energy transfer rate, from the atomic level to human scale. We aim to solve the long-standing challenges in ultra-high-temperature thermal barrier coatings, thermal protections of hypersonic vehicles, nuclear materials, thermal management of electronic devices, thermoelectric energy harvesting, building energy efficiency, lithium-ion batteries, etc. Our research methods include both advanced simulations and experiments, aiming for both fundamental sciences and cutting-edge technologies.