Spring School on Thermal Conductivity and Related Transport Properties of Oxides

DATES: May 18-22, 2009
LOCATION: University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

The transport properties of oxides underscore many of the most exciting applications of these complex materials, ranging from solid electrolytes for fuel cells, to the interplay between electrical and thermal transport in thermoelectric oxides, to their use in thermal barrier coatings and potential for first wall materials for fusion reactors as well as for long-term immobilization of radioactive waste. The vitality and breadth of these topics has the consequence that students studying these materials have otherwise little in common. Furthermore, the basic transport properties are rarely the main focus of their research but rather the development of improved materials or behavior in complex environments. So, the objective of this school is to bring together students who are studying various aspects of these materials and provide them with a coherent and sound scientific basis for understanding transport behavior in oxides through lectures and break-out groups in a tutorial system of learning.

A central feature of the school will be the balanced approach between simulation, modeling and experimental techniques. This is especially important since simulation methods have now advanced to the point that they can tackle the complex structures and compositions of many of the oxides of interest to the scientific and technological community today. At the same time, the increasing complexity of many of the oxides, with several different cations on different sub-lattices, also means that simulation will increasingly become an important discovery tool.

Topics and Lecturers:

• Approaches to measuring thermal conductivity, David Cahill, U. Illinois
• Approaches to simulating thermal conductivity, Patrick Schelling, U. Central Florida
• Fundamentals of Thermal Transport, Simon Phillpot, U. Florida
• Crystallography of oxides, Juan Nino, U. Florida
• Electronic and atomistic simulation methods for oxides, Susan Sinnott, U. Florida
• Approaches to discovering oxides with low thermal conductivity, David Clarke, UCSB
• Thermal conductivity of minerals - the connection between spectral measurements and conductivity, A. M. Hofmeister, U. St Louis.
• Experimental approaches to ionic conductivity in oxides, Giuliano Gregori, Max Planck Institut, Stuttgart
• Simulation approaches to ionic conductivity in oxides, Robin Grimes, Imperial College
• Effects of radiation damage on mass and thermal transport, Lance Snead, Oak Ridge
• Thermoelectrics, George Nolas, U. South Florida
• The properties of the pyrochlore oxides, Pan Wei, Tsinghua University, China
• Combinatorial methods for exploring material properties, J-C. Zhao, OSU
• Combinatorial Sciences and Materials Informatics, To Be Confirmed

School Format:

Morning sessions will be tutorial presenting basic, pedagogical approaches to transport in different classes of materials. The first part of the afternoon sessions will be devoted to short student presentations concerning their work in break-out, tutorial sessions. These will be the basis for discussions in the second part of the afternoon in a reporter-discussion format. The last day of the school will be devoted to presentations by the school lecturers in a more traditional conference format of their latest research activities.

You can view the schedule here.

Organizers:

How to Apply:

NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

We invite applications from graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty world-wide for the School and for travel fellowship awards. Preference will be given to those already engaged in various aspects of the simulation and experimental determination of transport properties in oxides. A maximum of 50 students and post-docs from the US and overseas will participate in the Spring School. Lodging and meals will be provided and there is no registration fee for this program.

1. You can apply by visiting the following link apply here.

2. Graduate students and post doctoral fellows should, in addition to the above application, have their research supervisor sned an email endorsement to Jennifer Ybarra at ybarra@icmr.ucsb.edu.

Application Deadline:

The deadline to submit an application is April 6, 2009 but preference will be given to those who apply earlier. All applications will be acknowledged by email.

For further details, please contact the ICMR Program Coordinator, Jennifer Ybarra, at ybarra@icmr.ucsb.edu