MRI: Acquisition of a Thermoelectric Test Stand at Lamar University

1126745LIN本MRI计划书要求使用ULVAC Zem 3M8热电测试台。该仪器将加强拉马尔大学在材料科学领域的研究和教育活动，其K-12扩展计划，以及未来与德克萨斯州中部/东南部和路易斯安那州东部的其他大学以及当地工业合作伙伴的合作。拉马尔大学(LU)是一所中等规模的非博士授牌大学。在过去的几年里，教职员工在能源相关应用的材料开发方面开发了外部资助的研究项目，包括利用汽车废热发电的热电氧化物和用于制备燃料电池新型催化剂的固态反应。许多项目需要分析热电和电学特性。尽管该大学成立了材料仪器中心(MIC)，组装了许多分析和表征仪器来支持这项研究，但缺乏表征热电和电气材料的仪器阻碍了研究工作的进展。此时，样品被送到500英里外的橡树岭国家实验室进行分析。尽管LU在热电氧化物的开发方面取得了重大进展，但LU样品分析的漫长等待时间严重阻碍了其研究进展。由于对热电材料表征能力的迫切需求，拟议的试验台是对陆上大学能力能材料研究的战略补充。缺乏热电表征能力不仅延缓了鲁迅大学的研究进展，而且危及其与其他研究机构在热电开发方面的合作。

1126745LinThis MRI proposal requests a ULVAC ZEM 3M8 Thermoelectric Test Stand. This instrument will enhance Lamar University's research and education activities in materials science areas, its K-12 outreach program and future collaborates with other universities in the central/ southeast Texas and east Louisiana as well as local industrial partners. Lamar University (LU) is a mid size non-PhD granting university. In the past few years, faculty members developed externally funded research projects in materials development for energy related applications, including thermoelectric oxides for power generation from automobile waste heat and solid-state reaction to prepare novel catalysts for fuel cells. Many of the projects need to analyze thermoelectric and electrical properties. Although the university forms a Materials Instrumentation Center (MIC) that has assembled a number of analytical and characterization instruments to support the research, the lack of an instrument to characterize thermoelectric and electrical materials hinders the progress of the research work. At this time, samples are sent to Oak Ridge National Laboratories which is 500 miles away for analysis. Although LU has made significant progress in the thermoelectric oxide development, the long waiting time to analyze LU's samples seriously holds back its research progress. Because of the urgent need of the capability to characterize thermoelectric materials, the proposed test stand is a strategic addition to LU's capability energy materials research. The lack of the thermoelectric characterization capability not only delays LU's research progress but also jeopardize its collaboration with other research institutes in thermoelectric development.