Heremans joins National Academy of Engineering

By Pam Frost Gorder

From cars to computers, electrical and mechanical devices produce heat that is often wasted.

Ohio State’s latest faculty member to join the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has made his career out of turning waste heat into something useful: Electricity.

Joseph Heremans, Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nanotechnology, was elected to the NAE for “his discoveries in thermal energy transfer and conversion to electricity, and for the commercial devices employed in automobiles.”

“We’re delighted that Jos received this honor and proud to know that he will contribute to the development of federal science and engineering policy at a time when alternative energy is so critical to our nation,” said David Williams, the Monte Ahuja Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State.

Heremans, who also is a professor of Mechanical Engineering and professor of Physics at Ohio State, studies the quantum-mechanical properties of materials in order to understand the link between heat, magnetism and electric currents at the atomic level.

He and his team are particularly interested in how the choice of atoms that make up a semiconductor influences the spins of electrons that flow through the material and the amount of heat they carry. Most recently, they were able to use what they’ve learned to amplify the voltage produced from a magnetic effect called the spin Seebeck effect — an important first step in making this technology more practical.

Ultimately, Heremans’ work could enable electronic devices that recycle waste heat into electricity. In a computer, his materials could enable heat-powered computation, or, inversely, provide active cooling. In a car, waste heat from the engine could be used to generate meaningful amounts of useful electrical power, and increase fuel economy.

“Ultimately, Heremans’ work could enable electronic devices that recycle waste heat into electricity.”

As an academy member, Heremans will advise the federal government on issues of science and engineering. It’s a rare honor; of the 2 million practicing engineers in the United States, only 0.1 percent are members of the NAE.

Members are deemed by their peers to have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature,” and to the “pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”