Seminar Presentation: 11:00am – Noon
Ionic conduction in low-dimensional oxides and solid state fuel cells
Shriram Ramanathan
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Harvard University
Abstract:
Studies on structure-property relations in frontier materials enable scholarship as well as collaborative pursuits to explore societal relevant technologies. Dr. Ramanathan will discuss his on-going studies with emphasis on high temperature ionic and electronic conduction in ultra-thin freestanding oxide membranes. He will present examples of high performance solid oxide fuel cells operating in natural gas utilizing, such scalable suspended membranes, that are of relevance to distributed energy. Techniques to probe relaxation dynamics of interface-controlled oxides to directly measure kinetics of oxygen exchange and inform design of electrodes will be discussed. Dr. Ramanathan will present in brief examples of cross-disciplinary collaborative efforts spanning chemistry, computational science, robotics and device engineering utilizing such materials. Time permitting, he will discuss the broader implications of ionic transport in the context of emergence of new electronic phases in narrow gap semiconductors.
Biosketch
Shriram Ramanathan received his PhD from Stanford University in Materials Science and Engineering in 2002. He was a member of the research staff in Components Research at Intel Corporation for over three years and subsequently joined Harvard University where he is presently Associate Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His research interests are in materials science and engineering of thin film oxides.