Department of Chemistry and Center for Research on Energy and Environment will be hosting Professor Susan Kauzlarich, professor of chemistry from UC Davis, California for a departmental seminar in Chemistry on 4th March 2019. Prof. Kauzlarich will present a seminar entitled, “Applications of Zintl Phases for Direct Thermal to Electrical Energy” in G3 Schrenk Hall from 4:15 – 5:15 pm. Light refreshments will be served before the seminar.

There are many areas of science where progress is materials limited. The synthesis and identification of new compounds that can lead to enhancements in existing technologies, or serve as the basis of revolutionary new technologies, is essential for developing new and improved technologies. Zintl compounds can be described by a combination of ionic and covalent bonding, composed of electropositive cations which donate electrons to the more electronegative components that utilize the electrons to form various bonding motifs. Kauzlarich group has focused on Zintl compounds for their structural, chemical, and electronic properties and in this seminar research on Zintl phases for thermoelectric applications such as waste heat to electrical power conversion, will be presented.

Professor Kauzlarich is a distinguished professor of chemistry at University of California, Davis. She had served as the chair of the department form 2103-2016, prior to which she was Faculty Assistant to the Dean of Mathematics and Physical Sciences at UC Davis. Professor Kauzlarich is a highly accomplished solid state and materials chemist with more than 290 peer-reviewed publications, with more than 12,000 citations, and a h-index of 61. She has received her undergraduate and graduate degree from College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA and Michigan State University, respectively. She joined UC Davis as an assistant professor following postdoctoral studies at Iowa State University. Prof. Kauzlarich has been a strong proponent for the involvement of under-represented minorities in science. She has been a member of the UC Davis Affirmative Action Committee, CAMPOS (the Center for Advancing Multicultural Perspectives on Science) Initiative Advisory Committee member, and participated in the ACS SEED program. She is a fellow of the ACS (American Chemical Society) and American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and currently she is the chair-elect for AAAS Chemistry section. She is also an editor of the highly prestigious materials chemistry journal, Chemistry of Materials, published by American Chemical Society and also was an associate editor of Journal of Solid State Chemistry (2000 -2005).