| Description | Thermal-emission engineering: challenges and opportunities
Abstract: Thermal emission (thermal radiation) is the phenomenon responsible for most of the light in the universe. Though understanding of thermal emission dates back over a century, recent advances have encouraged the re-examination of this phenomenon and its potential applications. This talk will describe our group’s advances and outline future work in the measurement and manipulation of thermal emission. First, I will discuss our efforts to improve thermal-emission metrology, especially for low-temperature (T<200 °C) thermal emitters. Then, I will review our use of phase-transition materials including vanadium dioxide and the rare-earth nickelates to demonstrate new phenomena, including negative- and zero-differential thermal emittance, radiative thermal runaway, and thermo-dichroism. The talk will include discussion of exciting opportunities of phase-transition thermal emitters for applications that include infrared camouflage and thermoregulation. Bio: Mikhail Kats is a fourth-year Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, with affiliate appointments in the Departments of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering, the McPherson Eye Research Institute, and the Wisconsin Energy Institute. Mikhail’s research interests include optical properties of engineered materials, novel optical and optoelectronic devices, tailoring of thermal emission and radiative heat transfer, enhancement of human vision, and related topics in optics and photonics. Prior to joining UW-Madison, He received his BS in Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 2008, and his PhD in Applied Physics from Harvard University in 2014. Mikhail has published more than 50 papers, resulting in about 8,000 citations. His awards include the ONR Young Investigator Award (2016), the AFOSR Young Investigator Award (2017), the NSF CAREER award (2018), the Coatings Young Investigator Award (2018), and selection to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list in the Science category (2016). Molecular Engineering and Sciences Seminar Series This weekly seminar brings together students, faculty and invited guests from various disciplines across campus to explore current trends in molecular engineering and nanotechnology. It is a forum for active interdisciplinary discussions. These talks are open to the public and attract a diverse audience of students and faculty. |
|---|