Scalable Thermal Energy Engineering Lab (STEEL) Microsoft Academic Page
Google Scholar
 

Education

  • Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of California Berkeley, 2013
  • M.S. Nuclear Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2008
  • B.S. Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2007

Background

Dr. Yee joined Georgia Tech in 2014 directly from his PhD at the University of California Berkeley. Prior to Georgia Tech, he joined the US. Dept. of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) during its inaugural year as the first ARPA-E Fellow.  In 2008, he was awarded a prestigious Hertz Fellowship. While at Georgia Tech in 2015, Dr. Yee was selected for an AFOSR Young Investigator Award to develop polymer thermoelectrics. Dr. Yee is the recipient of the 2017 ASME Pi-Tau-Sigma Gold Medal award for “outstanding contributions to the field of Mechanical Engineering in the first decade of one’s career.” In 2019, Dr. Yee was selected for an ONR Young Investigator Award to develop polymer thermal switches. Most recently, Dr. Yee is directing the Generation II Reinvent the Toilet (G2RT) program supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was recognized as one of Bill Gate’s Heroes in the Field in 2021.

Research

  • Heat Transfer, Combustion and Energy Systems: Thermal energy conversion technologies and thermal transport technologies. 
  • Thermal energy conversion technologies: organic thermoelectrics, thermo-electrochemical heat engines, thermo-electrochemical refrigeration, thermophotovoltaics, etc.
  • Thermal transport technologies: thermal switches, thermal physical property measurements, nanoscale thermal transport, thermal conduction, etc. 
  • Micro and Nano Engineering: Electrical and thermal transport in polymers
  • Nuclear & Radiological Engineering: Nuclear batteries, betavoltaics, applied nuclear physics, and transmutation.

Dr. Yee directs the Scalable Thermal Energy Engineering Laboratory (STEEL), which develops thermal energy conversion technologies and thermal transport technologies. The current research themes include developing global change technologies, furthering thermal managed, developing new forms of thermal energy conversion, new cooling and refrigeration technologies, and answers fundamental scientific questions around organic thermeoelctric transport. Learn more here: https://yeelab.gatech.edu/research/
 

Distinctions and Awards

  • Bill Gates’ Hero in the Field – 2021
  • Young Investigator Award- Office of Naval Research – 2019
  • ASME Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal Award – 2017
  • Young Investigator Award- Air Force Office of Scientific Research – 2015
  • Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellow – 2008

Selected Publications

Find all publications here: https://yeelab.gatech.edu/publications/

  1. Gregory, S. A., Hanus, R., Atassi, A., Rinehart, J. M., Wooding, J. P., Menon, A. K., Losego, M. D., Snyder, G. J., & Yee, S. K. (2021). Quantifying charge carrier localization in chemically doped semiconducting polymers. Nature Materials. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-021-01008-0
  2. Gunawan, A., Singh, A. K., Simmons, R. A., Haynes, M. W., Limia, A., Ha, J. M., Kottke, P. A., Fedorov, A. G., Lee, S. W., & Yee, S. K. (2020). A Cost‐Performance Analysis of a Sodium Heat Engine for Distributed Concentrating Solar Power. Advanced Sustainable Systems, 4(6), 1900104. https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.201900104
  3. Elmoughni, H. M., Menon, A. K., Wolfe, R. M. W., & Yee, S. K. (2019). A Textile-Integrated Polymer Thermoelectric Generator for Body Heat Harvesting. Advanced Materials Technologies, 4(7), 1800708. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.201800708
  4. Menon, A. K., Wolfe, R. M. W., Marder, S. R., Reynolds, J. R., & Yee, S. K. (2018). Systematic Power Factor Enhancement in n-Type NiETT/PVDF Composite Films. Advanced Functional Materials, 28(29), 1801620. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201801620
  5. Kommandur, S., & Yee, S. K. (2017). An empirical model to predict temperature-dependent thermal conductivity of amorphous polymers. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, 55(15), 1160–1170. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/polb.24365
  6. Limia, A., Ha, J. M., Kottke, P., Gunawan, A., Fedorov, A. G., Lee, S. W., & Yee, S. K. (2017). A dual-stage sodium thermal electrochemical converter (Na-TEC). Journal of Power Sources, 371, 217–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.10.022
  7. Dixon, J., Rajan, A., Bohlemann, S., Coso, D., Upadhyaya, A. D., Rohatgi, A., Chu, S., Majumdar, A., & Yee, S. (2016). Evaluation of a Silicon 90 Sr Betavoltaic Power Source. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 38182. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38182
  8. Menon, A. K., & Yee, S. K. (2016). Design of a polymer thermoelectric generator using radial architecture. Journal of Applied Physics, 119(5), 055501. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4941101
  9. LeBlanc, S., Yee, S. K., Scullin, M. L., Dames, C., & Goodson, K. E. (2014). Material and manufacturing cost considerations for thermoelectrics. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 32, 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.030 
  10. Yee, S. K., LeBlanc, S., Goodson, K. E., & Dames, C. (2013). $ per W metrics for thermoelectric power generation: beyond ZT. Energy & Environmental Science, 6(9), 2561–2571. https://doi.org/10.1039/C3EE41504J