"Interface Nanoengineering:  A Route to Break the Glassy Limit in Heat Conduction"

Abstract:

Interfaces are ubiquitous in natural and engineered systems and occur where two dissimilar materials meet each other. These interfaces provide a new dimension to better understand the nature and design new materials and processes with exotic and counter-intuitive performances. In this talk, I will provide a general overview of my group's research in the broader area of interface engineering with applications ranging from enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration to concrete nanoengineering. I subsequently delve further and describe how nanoengineering of interfaces in the cement paste can help us break the longstanding barrier of thermal conductivity below its solid's glassy limit. I will delineate the collaborative experimental effort through which we were able to realize these novel interfaces in the lab. Subsequently, I will describe the underlying physics through which these interfaces scatter heat carriers at the nanoscale.