Nanotechnology: Myeonglok Seol , Ph.D. is Awarded Ames Honor Award and Mike Sargeant Career Achievement Award, Institution of Engineering and Technology
August 2019
Dr. Myeonglok Seol was awarded the 2018 Ames Honor Award and the Mike Sergeant Career Achievement Award, Institution of Engineering and Technology United Kingdom. Both awards are for Myenglok’s contributions to the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG). The Mike Sargeant award is presented to an early career researcher who has made great engineering contributions and shows potential for a promising research career. Dr. Seol received this award in a ceremony held in London.
A TENG is an energy-harvesting device that converts the external mechanical energy (such as wind and any other motion/vibration) into electricity by a conjunction of triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction through rubbing two sheets of materials. A potential is created by the triboelectric effect due to the charge transfer between two thin organic/inorganic films that exhibit opposite tribo-polarity. Electrons are driven to flow between two electrodes attached on the backsides of the films in order to balance the potential.
Dr. Seol is the first in the world to demonstrate an all-printed TENG in an effort to support NASA’s In Space Manufacturing program. NASA currently operates two 3D printers in the space station. Thus, his demonstration paves the way for NASA to print these energy generation devices as needed in ISS in the future. In addition, Myeonglok has also explored the use of TENG for wind energy in Mars by showing that the use of TENG can overcome the weight penalty associated with the conventional electromagnetic motors used with wind turbines on earth, as TENG produces the most power per unit weight of any competing technologies. This opens up the possibility of deploying TENG in Mars, exploiting the fierce wind velocities in spite of the low density of Martian atmosphere. His studies showed that the Martian ambient is very much amenable for deploying TENG for wind power generation.
