Dr. Kenneth Graham, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky, has been selected as a recipient of a CAREER Award from the Department of Energy. This award supports the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and stimulates research programs in the disciplines supported by the DOE Office of Science.

Assistant Professor Kenneth Graham received a $110,000 grant from ACS PRF to develop a better understanding of polymer blend thermoelectrics. Thermoelectrics can convert heat energy to useful electrical energy based on the Seebeck effect, or they can utilize electrical energy to produce heating or cooling. Polymer based thermoelectric materials have the potential to be low-cost, are lightweight, and mechanically flexible, which opens up a number of applications if the thermoelectric performance of these materials can be further improved.

The researchers demonstrated that surface modifying groups can be utilized to influence both film morphology and electrical conductivity in silver nanowire-polymer composites and demonstrate a one-step process for fabricating homogeneous composite transparent electrodes.  ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2015, 7, 21652–21656.

The University of Kentucky Chemistry department is excited to welcome two new faculty members, Professors Kenneth Graham and Peter Kekenes-Huskey, to the Bluegrass this summer.