NSF Award
1126745
1126745<br/>Lin<br/><br/>This MRI proposal requests a ULVAC ZEM 3M8 Thermoelectric Test Stand. This instrument will enhance Lamar University's research and education activities in materials science areas, its K-12 outreach program and future collaborates with other universities in the central/ southeast Texas and east Louisiana as well as local industrial partners. Lamar University (LU) is a mid size non-PhD granting university. In the past few years, faculty members developed externally funded research projects in materials development for energy related applications, including thermoelectric oxides for power generation from automobile waste heat and solid-state reaction to prepare novel catalysts for fuel cells. Many of the projects need to analyze thermoelectric and electrical properties. Although the university forms a Materials Instrumentation Center (MIC) that has assembled a number of analytical and characterization instruments to support the research, the lack of an instrument to characterize thermoelectric and electrical materials hinders the progress of the research work. At this time, samples are sent to Oak Ridge National Laboratories which is 500 miles away for analysis. Although LU has made significant progress in the thermoelectric oxide development, the long waiting time to analyze LU's samples seriously holds back its research progress. Because of the urgent need of the capability to characterize thermoelectric materials, the proposed test stand is a strategic addition to LU's capability energy materials research. The lack of the thermoelectric characterization capability not only delays LU's research progress but also jeopardize its collaboration with other research institutes in thermoelectric development.
