Yanliang Zhang

Education

Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic University, 2011

M.S., Southeast University, China, 2008

B.S., Southeast University, China, 2005

Biography

Yanliang Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. He received Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2011, and spent over one year in industry prior to his academic positions. Dr. Zhang’s research work has been published on numerous scientific journals of high impact, including Nature Materials, Science Advances, Advanced Materials, Nano Letters, Scientific Reports, Energy Conversion and Management, Applied Physics Letters, etc.

Summary of Activities/Interests

Dr. Zhang directs the Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Lab (AMEL) at Notre Dame. His research focuses on thermal science and thermal energy conversion, clean and sustainable energy systems, additive and nano manufacturing for multifunctional and multiscale devices. Dr. Zhang’s research has been sponsored by multiple funding awards from National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and industry, and he has directed several multi-institutional research projects. The AMEL constantly has openings for students and postdocs from multi-disciplinary background, including but not limited to mechanical engineering, materials science, chemical engineering, physics, etc.

Awards

NSF Career Award,  2017

Best poster award in International Conference on Thermoelectrics, 2014 and 2017

Best paper award in thermoelectric session in MRS Fall, 2010.

IBM Fellowship Award,  2008–2010

Selected Publications  

[1] Z. Lin, C. Hollar, J. S. Kang, A. Yin,  Y. Wang, H. Shiu, Y. Huang, Y. Hu, Y. Zhang, X. Duan, “A Solution Processable High-Performance Thermoelectric Copper Selenide Thin Film”, Advanced Materials, 1606662, 2017.

[2] T. Varghese, C. Hollar, N. Kempf, C. Han, D. Estrada, R. J. Mehta, Y. Zhang, High-performance and flexible thermoelectric films by screen printing solution-processed nanoplate crystals, Scientific Reports, 6, 33135, 2016.

[3]  Z. Lin, A. Yin, J. Mao, Y. Xia, N. Kempf, Q. He, Y. Wang, C.-Y. Chen, Y. Zhang, V. Ozolins, Z. Ren, Y. Huang, X. Duan, Scalable solution-phase epitaxial growth of symmetry-mismatched heterostructures on two-dimensional crystal soft template. Science Advances, 2, e1600993 2016.

[4] Y. Zhang, X. Wang, M. Cleary, L. Schoensee, N. Kempf, “High-Performance Nanostructured Thermoelectric Generators for Micro Combined Heat and Power Systems”, Applied Thermal Engineering, 96, 83, 2016.

[5] Y. Zhang, M. Cleary, X. Wang, N. Kempf, L. Schoensee, J. Yang, G. Joshi, L. Meda, “High-temperature and high-power-density nanostructured thermoelectric generator for automotive waste heat recovery”, Energy Conversion and Management, 105, 946, 2015.

[6] P. Jood, R. J Mehta, Y. Zhang, T. Borca-Tasciuc, S. Dou, David J. Singh, G. Ramanath, “Heavy element doping for enhancing thermoelectric properties of nanostructured zinc oxide”, RSC Advances, 4, 6363, 2014.

[7] R. J. Mehta, Y. Zhang, C. Karthik, B. Singh, R. W. Siegel, T. Borca-Tasciuc, G. Ramanath, “A new class of doped nanobulk high figure of merit thermoelectrics by scalable bottom-up assembly”, Nature Materials, 11, 233, 2012.

[8] R. J. Mehta, Y. Zhang, H. Zhu, D. S. Parker, M. Belley, D. J. Singh, R. Ramprasad, T. Borca-Tasciuc, G. Ramanath, “Seebeck and figure of merit enhancement in nanostructured antimony telluride by antisite defect suppression through sulfur doping”, Nano Letters, 12, 4523, 2012.

[9] P. Jood, R. J Mehta, Y. Zhang, R. W. Siegel, T. Borca-Tasciuc, S. Dou, G. Ramanath, “Al-doped zinc oxide nanocomposites with enhanced thermoelectric properties”, Nano Letters, 11, 4337, 2011.

[10] Y. Zhang, C. L. Hapenciuc, E. E. Castillo, R. J. Mehta, C. Karthik, G. Ramanath, T. Borca-Tasciuc,  “A Microprobe Technique for Simultaneously measuring Thermal Conductivity and Seebeck Coefficient of Thin Films”, Applied Physics Letters, 96, 062107, 2010.