SUSTech recently invited Professor Zhang Qingjie, Vice-President of the China Energy Society and President of Wuhan University of Science and Technology to do a conference entitled “Recent Progress of Thermoeletric Materials and Their Applications in China”, presided over by Professor He Jiaqing, SUSTech’s chair of the Physics Department. Faculty members and students had the wonderful opportunity to learn about the latest developments of thermoelectric materials and technology, and their applications in China.

Professor Zhang Qingjie talked about the diverse high-tech projects that he has led and been involved in, which include the national “863” program and the National Natural Science Fund projects just to name a few. He explained how working on such high profile cases led him to make significant breakthroughs in new generation composite materials (including gradients, high-performance and ceramics). He also detailed the theory and methods used for forecasting and controlling the non-linear properties of these new materials, since these played a critical role in developing his innovations.

Thermoelectric materials are often used for heating or cooling in niche applications but are also a promising area of study as they could present methods to regenerate electricity from waste heat.

Biography of Professor Zhang Qingjie:

Professor Zhang is a leading figure in the field of composite materials. He is the Vice-President of the China Energy Society and President of Wuhan University of Science and Technology, but also chief scientist for the National Key Laboratory of New Technology Materials as well as chief scientist for the national “973” project. Such credentials make him the ideal candidate to talk about the current status of thermoelectric materials research and the support that the state provides for it’s development. He introduced his latest research on the topic of “The Basis of Efficient Thermoelectric Conversion Materials and Devices”, a part of his work on the “973” project.