Capturing Heat
For Fred Harris, one of the most educational experiences he got as a PhD student working for Dave Johnson at the University of Oregon was the x-ray defraction analysis internship he did at Intel. “Working at Intel gave me a sense of how industry is different than academia,” he says. “I liked that real business decisions were based on the data I was giving them.”
Harris, now the senior scientist of the materials metrology group at BSST in Irwindale, California, evaluates promising new materials for thermoelectric efficiency. “BSST is looking for people in industry and academia who have the next best thing in thermoelectrics,” Harris says.
The materials Harris works with at BSST can be used in many situations, particularly power generation and waste heat recovery in automobiles and manufacturing. “In a green world, trying to harvest the energy that factories and cars create is becoming very important. The more efficiency, the better for the environment and the more bang for your buck,” Harris says.
Harvesting that energy from automobiles, which involves converting exhaust gasses into electricity using a Thermoelectric Generator Module, and would replace a significant mount of electric power that is produced by a car’s alternator. Currently Harris and his team are in the final developmental stages of the project, which is contracted by the Department of Energy.
Harris’ PhD project in Dave Johnson’s lab focused on making superlattice structures using Johnson’s modulated elemental reaction approach. Harris’s project led to the creation of design rules for making other types of superlattices using Johnson’s method, as well as seeding future projects for chemistry students there.
“Dave Johnson was a fantastic adviser,” Harris says. “He was hands off until you needed something, and he always knew when to step in to help. He knew his stuff, too.”
