Solid-State Energy Conversion: Applications and Perspectives

——Prof. Dr. Andrej Kitanovski, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Slovenia

Prof. Kitanovski heads the Laboratory of Refrigeration and District Energy at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Ljubljana. His main research expertize concerns solid-state cooling and heat pump technologies. He is the founder and chair of the international IIR working group on Solid State Cooling, Heating, which includes energy harvesting. Other research and expertise areas comprise: thermal management of power- and micro-electronics, thermal storage, different types of heat pumps, and district heating and cooling. He is a member of the SiEnE's Experts Group, ASHRAE, ASME, IIR, MRS, and EHPA, Slovenian platform -Smart Buildings and Home with a Wood Chain, member of Executive Board Slovenian Energy Association SZE and Energy Council of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Compression-based elastocaloric cooling: materials, devices, and systems
——Prof. Ichiro Takeuchi, University of Maryland
Ichiro Takeuchi is a professor of materials science and engineering and affiliate professor of physics at the University of Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Maryland in 1996. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Maryland, he was a postdoctoral research associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he helped pioneer the combinatorial materials synthesis strategy. He had also previously worked as a technical staff member in the superconducting electronics group at NEC Corporation. Takeuchi’s research interests include high-throughput materials discovery, caloric cooling materials and systems, AI for materials science, and superconducting devices. Takeuchi is also the CTO of Maryland Energy & Sensor Technologies, LLC, a start-up dedicated to commercializing elastocaloric cooling. Takeuchi has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles to date. Takeuchi is a fellow of the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society, and the Japan Society of Applied Physics.  

Electrocaloric Cooling For A Sustainable World - Where Are We Now?
——Prof. Qiming Zhang, Pennsylvania State University
Qiming Zhang is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. His research covers electronic materials, especially polymers and composites, and their devices and applications. Zhang invented the relaxor ferroelectric polymers which possess record high dielectric permittivity and polymer thin film actuators with giant electroactuation and ultra-high electromechanical coupling factor. The relaxor polymers have been commercialized by Arkema. He founded a high-tech startup, Novasentis, Inc. (was acquired by KEMET in 2019), in commercializing the relaxor polymer thin film actuators and sensors, as well their haptic, wearable, microfluid devices. The company was listed by The Science Coalition in 2013 as one of 100 successful startups created from federally funded university research (Sparking Economic Growth 2.0, Oct. 2013). Since the late 2000s, his group has developed ferroelectric polymers and ceramics with large electrocaloric effect, creating unique opportunity for solid state cooling with high efficiency and zero green greenhouse gas emission. Exploiting the unique features of ECE, his group has developed several solid-state EC cooling devices which have the promise for compact and distributed high efficiency EC coolers. He is a Fellow of IEEE, National Academy of Inventors, and APS. 

Thermoelectric cooling materials and emerging applications  
——Prof. Jing-Feng Li, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University 
Prof. Jing-Feng Li is a Changjiang Scholar Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Tsinghua University, a visiting professor at Tohoku University, Foreign Fellow of Engineering Academy of Japan, Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, Member of IEEE Ferroelectric Standing Committee, board member of International Thermoelectric Society, and also the deputy director of Tsinghua University-Toyota Research Centre. Before joining Tsinghua University as a full professor in 2002, he was an associate professor at Tohoku University. His current research interests include thermoelectric and ferroelectric materials as well as their applications. Prof. Li has published four books and >550 papers in prestigious, top international refereed journals, which have attracted over 31000 citations (H-index=93, highly cited researcher by Clarivate), and has been invited to give >100 plenary/keynote/invited lectures at international conferences/symposia/workshops. Prof. Li now serves as Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Materiomics and associate Editor-in-Chief for Journal of the Chinese Ceramic Society as well as editorial board members for several international journals.

Baotou rare earth industry: a strong support for magnetic materials and application devices
——Prof. Dr. Huang Jiaohong，Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths
Prof. Dr. Huang Jiaohong, mainly involves in the research and development of rare earth-based magnetic materials (magnetic refrigeration materials and permanent magnetic materials) and application devices such as magnetic refrigeration machine, direct measurement apparatus for magnetic refrigeration material, magnetic separator and different magnetic fields; R&D and preparation of rare earth metals; and design of permanent magnetic paths and magnetic field.  
Besides the research fields, Prof. Dr. Huang has taken many social positions, including vice chairman of the Rare Earth Magnetic Refrigeration Materials and Devices Committee of the Chinese Society of Rare Earths , member of the Solid and New Materials Committee, and member of the Thermophysics Committee of the Chinese Society for Measurement; vice president of Baotou Non Party Intellectuals Association; specially appointed researchers/professors/supervisors for master degree students by many research institutions and universities. He was honored the title of Inner Mongolia "Outstanding Contribution Expert" and Inner Mongolia Grassland Talent. From January 2017 to March 2023, He was appointed as the Chief Expert on Rare Earth Magnetic Materials by Baogang Group Company.
He has got many awards such as the First Prize of Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Progress and the First Prize of the Chinese Society of Rare Earths. He has undertaken more than 20 national and Inner Mongolia level scientific research projects. He has published more than 120 academic papers inside and outside China and has patented 70 China’s national patents. He has supervised one post-doctoral researcher, two students for doctoral-degree and more than 20 students for master-degree.