Prof. Saniya of Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Eng, George Washington University, Washington DC

Abstract: Thermoelectric power generators can convert waste heat into useful electrical energy, but traditional thermoelectric device manufacturing uses bulk material processing with machining, assembly, and integration steps which lead to material waste and performance limitations.  The traditional manufacturing approach offers virtually no flexibility in designing the architecture of thermoelectric modules, especially at multiple length scales. Additive manufacturing can overcome these challenges. Although printing techniques, including 3D printing, have been explored for thermoelectric devices, these techniques have been limited to organic or organic-inorganic composite materials. Additive manufacturing solutions have not been demonstrated for inorganic thermoelectric materials. This presentation will describe our progress in laser-based additive manufacturing of thermoelectric materials such as tellurides and silicides. Laser powder bed fusion (also known as selective laser melting) is an additive manufacturing process which locally melts successive layers of material powder to construct three-dimensional objects. When applied to thermoelectric materials, this technique could enable new shapes, hierarchical structuring, material-to-device integration, and large-area processing. The presentation will show the first demonstrations of laser additive manufacturing applied to thermoelectric materials and discuss the link between materials, manufacturing, and system-level considerations for thermoelectric power generators.

Biography:

Saniya LeBlanc is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at the George Washington University. Her research goals are to create next-generation energy solutions leveraging advanced materials and manufacturing techniques. Previously, she was a scientist at a startup company developing energy conversion technologies. Prior to pursuing a PhD, she was a high school teacher through Teach for America. Dr. LeBlanc obtained a PhD and MS in mechanical engineering with a minor in materials science at Stanford University. She was a Churchill Scholar at University of Cambridge where she received an MPhil in engineering, and she has a BS in mechanical engineering with a minor in French from Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2018, the American Society of Engineering Education named Dr. LeBlanc one of its “20 Under 40” high-achieving researchers and educators, and she received the National Science Foundation CAREER award in 2020.  

Saniya Leblanc

Email:

Address:Dept of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, George Washington University, Washington DC , United States, 20052