Welcome
Brendan Hanrahan, looking interested
Dr. Brendan Hanrahan received his B.S. degree in Ceramic and Materials Engineering from Clemson University in 2006, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2009 and 2013, respectively. For his Ph.D., Brendan determined the fundamental materials properties dictating the performance of microball bearing platforms, which could serve as enabling technologies for future microsystems.
Brendan has been at the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory in the Energy Sciences Division in various positions since 2009. He currently leads an effort in Ferroelectrics for energy applications including pyroelectrics wireless power applications, antiferroelectrics for energy storage and high temperature ferroelectric memory. He currently leads the Ferroelectric Nitride Operational Materials (FeNOM) team.
In addition to his engineering efforts, Brendan boot-strapped and chaired the non-profit corporation Cupid Charities which runs the world-wide Cupid’s Undie Run event series. The organization has fundraised over $28M from more than 100,000 participants. In 2022 we merged with our longtime beneficiary the Children’s Tumor Foundation.
He is currently serving as advisor to the Mid-Atlantic Micro/Nano Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to facilitating regional scientific discussion and collaboration. Brendan is a member of IEEE-UFFC Ferrocom, the ferroelectrics steering committee.
Brendan has been at the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory in the Energy Sciences Division in various positions since 2009. He currently leads an effort in Ferroelectrics for energy applications including pyroelectrics wireless power applications, antiferroelectrics for energy storage and high temperature ferroelectric memory. He currently leads the Ferroelectric Nitride Operational Materials (FeNOM) team.
In addition to his engineering efforts, Brendan boot-strapped and chaired the non-profit corporation Cupid Charities which runs the world-wide Cupid’s Undie Run event series. The organization has fundraised over $28M from more than 100,000 participants. In 2022 we merged with our longtime beneficiary the Children’s Tumor Foundation.
He is currently serving as advisor to the Mid-Atlantic Micro/Nano Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to facilitating regional scientific discussion and collaboration. Brendan is a member of IEEE-UFFC Ferrocom, the ferroelectrics steering committee.
Recent News:
10/7/2024: The foam capacitor is revealed to the world:
In this collaboration between the University of Virginia, the University of Delaware, and the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, the team engineered a new geometry of dielectric capacitor is fabricated and tested, consisting of a metal foam substrate/electrode, coated with an atomic-layer deposition of antiferroelectric dielectric and then filled with a liquid metal counter electrode. This new geometry has benefits in energy storage and thermal management.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ente.202400956
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ente.202400956
9/27: Brendan is elected to the Early Career Distinguished Alumni Association
Brendan was honored to be a part of the 2024 EDCA for distinguished alumni of the A. James Clark School of Engineer at the University of Maryland. The announcement is here: eng.umd.edu/alumni/society/2024
April 2024: The patent application has posted for the liquid metal - atomic layer deposited dielectric - metal foam capacitor has posted! Welcome to the future. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20240079183A1/en
February 2024: Brendan on the news, celebrating the "Cupidceanera" 15th edition of Cupid! check out the OG T-shirt. One of the few that made it through shipping in Snowmaggedon :
April 2023: Daniel Drury presented our results on high temperature Ferroelectric memory (FRAM) at the HiTEC conference showing memory retention over 400 C, hot enough maybe to go to Venus!
Summer 2022:Introducing a new kind of dielectric capacitor: Metal foam + Atomic Layer Dielectrics + Liquid Metal:
October 2021: The patent for continuous-mode elastocaloric cooling has been granted AND licensed by the start-up Barrow Green . The Army Research Laboratory and Barrow Green will continue development of this energy efficient, zero global warming potential technology under a cooperative research and development agreement.
July 2021: The paper, Printing a Pacinian Corpuscle: Modelling and Performance, lead by undergraduate co-op Kieran Barrett-Snyder, was selected as a feature article in Micromachines. This work highlights our bio-inspired approach to designing new seismic sensors.
June 2021: Introducing thin film Antiferroelectric PbHfO3:
Researchers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory have grown the first thin film PbHfO3 antiferroelectric, which is also the first true antiferroelectric grown by atomic layer deposition. They describe the energy storage, tunability, and imprint in a joint publication with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST): https://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/5.0035730
8/14/2020 - Pyroelectric Energy Conversion 101
A practical tutorial on pyroelectrics. Don't take it from me, take it from Teddy:
A practical tutorial on pyroelectrics. Don't take it from me, take it from Teddy:
6/24/2020 - Old school sources for new power: combustion to pyroelectrics
Combustion accounts for >60% of power generation world wide due, in part, to the high energy density and portability of liquid hydrocarbons. Most of the time the heat generated from combustion is used to ultimately drive a turbine and generate power. Alternatively, certain materials can convert heat to electricity due to their intrinsic properties including thermoelectrics and pyroelectrics. What we showed was that catalytic (flameless) combustion on-chip can drive pyroelectric energy conversion towards a new, portable power source.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666386420300709
Combustion accounts for >60% of power generation world wide due, in part, to the high energy density and portability of liquid hydrocarbons. Most of the time the heat generated from combustion is used to ultimately drive a turbine and generate power. Alternatively, certain materials can convert heat to electricity due to their intrinsic properties including thermoelectrics and pyroelectrics. What we showed was that catalytic (flameless) combustion on-chip can drive pyroelectric energy conversion towards a new, portable power source.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666386420300709
5/23/2020 - Nanostructured Iridium Oxide to the rescue!
After accidentally discovering that certain processing conditions produced this interesting film morphology, we set out to understand the impact on device performance, particular pyroelectric and piezoelectrics. The study took a while, the leader got a fancy job at Blue Origin, but persistence won the day and it's finally being published: https://rdcu.be/b4mcb
After accidentally discovering that certain processing conditions produced this interesting film morphology, we set out to understand the impact on device performance, particular pyroelectric and piezoelectrics. The study took a while, the leader got a fancy job at Blue Origin, but persistence won the day and it's finally being published: https://rdcu.be/b4mcb
4/23/2020: A seminar on the artificial Pacinian Corpuscle:
October 2019- Pyroelectric conversion with ferroelectric hafnia.
A collaboration with the Center Nanoelectronic Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS combined the materials and device knowledge of our two groups. This resulted in the first ever power generation using atomic-layer deposited ferroelectric hafnia. We used high aspect ratio capacitors with extremely large coefficients (per footprint area) this can lead to extremely high power densities for wireless power devices.
A collaboration with the Center Nanoelectronic Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS combined the materials and device knowledge of our two groups. This resulted in the first ever power generation using atomic-layer deposited ferroelectric hafnia. We used high aspect ratio capacitors with extremely large coefficients (per footprint area) this can lead to extremely high power densities for wireless power devices.
October 2018 - The first battery charged from high frequency pyroelectric cycles - Our team from the Army Research Laboratory and University of Maryland have created a circuit interface that manages and stores energy created from pyroelectric thin films. This is an important breakthrough towards realizing pyroelectric technology. This work was published in Applied Energy here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918314120
Sept. 2018: A Supercharged Atomic Engine
credit: Eric Proctor
Sept 2018 - We published a collaborative effort between the Army Research Laboratory, the U.S. Naval Academy, University of Connecticut and University of Maryland on the physics and application of the inverse pyroelectric effect observed in antiferroelectric materials. We show that the inverse pyroelectric regime comes from the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant, not anti-polar rotation as previously hypothesized. We perform energy conversion in both regimes and then propose a resonant energy conversion circuit that passes charge back-and-forth, analogous to pistons in an engine driving one another.
A science trends article about the work can be found here: sciencetrends.com/a-supercharged-atomic-engine/
Journal paper: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/tc/c8tc02686f/unauth#!divAbstract
A science trends article about the work can be found here: sciencetrends.com/a-supercharged-atomic-engine/
Journal paper: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/tc/c8tc02686f/unauth#!divAbstract
May 2018 - We found that the antireflective Iridium Oxide films developed for wireless pyroelectric applications were also superior catalysts for water splitting. In this paper, we compare IrOx to metallic Iridium and the standard platinum, finding IrOx to be almost universally superior. This work could help lead towards efficient hydrogen generation from water.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b03874
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b03874
March 2018 - Brendan and his team have published, "Accounting for the Various Contributions to Pyroelectricity in Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Films" in the Journal of Applied Physics. This was a collaborative effort between the University of Connecticut and the U.S. Naval Academy.
The team started with observations that their pyroelectric energy conversion was not behaving as expected. They tracked this difference back to the way the pyroelectric coefficient was being measured. In this work, they compare direct, indirect and theoretical predictions of the pyroelectric coefficient and most importantly, discuss why they are different.
The team started with observations that their pyroelectric energy conversion was not behaving as expected. They tracked this difference back to the way the pyroelectric coefficient was being measured. In this work, they compare direct, indirect and theoretical predictions of the pyroelectric coefficient and most importantly, discuss why they are different.
Brendan as Nikola Tesla for Halloween
March 2018 - Brendan presented on Power from a physics perspective at PechaKucha Silver Spring, where each presenter presents 20 slides in a row at 20s a piece. You can watch the presentation here: https://www.pechakucha.org/cities/silver-spring/presentations/power-defined
May 2018 - Research led by Dr. Darin Sharar was presented at the 17th annual IEEE Itherm conference. In this work, bending-mode elastocalorics are used to create a continuous "flow", solid state, greenhouse gas-free refrigeration system. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8419513/
This work is important for both civilian and military applications since heating and cooling accounts for more than 48% of home energy use (https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool).
The images on the left show the cooling (purple) taking place in an elastocaloric Nickel Titanium (NiTi) wire.
Brendan visiting the Alamo while attending the International Meeting on Ferroelectrics in San Antonio
September 2017 - Brendan presented some results and a discussion on the disagreement between indirect and direct measurements of pyroelectric thin films at the International Meeting on Ferroelectrics. http://www.imf2017.org/
4/19/2017 - The pyroelectric energy conversion team at the U.S. Army Research Lab in collaboration with the U.S. Naval Academy recently published a thermodynamic analysis on energy conversion cycles for thin films. Want more power? push it harder (electrically) and go fast!
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/er.3749/full
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/er.3749/full
10/18/2016 - The pyroelectric energy conversion team at ARL recently published their work on wireless power transfer in Advanced Materials Technologies: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admt.201600178/abstract
Long-distance wireless power transmission is enabled by laser-heating a pyroelectric thin film. The modulated laser is synchronized with an applied electric field in order to accomplish energy conversion cycles. Energy density is found to vary with synchronization while power density is optimized by the trade-off between laser power and the transient thermal properties of the thin film system.
Long-distance wireless power transmission is enabled by laser-heating a pyroelectric thin film. The modulated laser is synchronized with an applied electric field in order to accomplish energy conversion cycles. Energy density is found to vary with synchronization while power density is optimized by the trade-off between laser power and the transient thermal properties of the thin film system.
Brendan Hanrahan receiving the ARL community service award
11/22/2016 - Brendan recently received the Community Service award for the Army Research Laboratory for his work with Cupid's Undie Run supporting the Children's Tumor Foundation.
10/1/2016 - Did you know that Theophrastus, a student of Socrates, was the first person to identify pyroelectricity? Army AL&T quarterly featured a piece by Brendan, "Crystal Heat: An atomic engine that has all of the power but none of the moving parts". This article discussed some of the history and the future of pyroelectric energy conversion. You can find it here: http://usaasc.armyalt.com/#folio=90
Brendan Hanrahan delivering the opening at the Mid-Atlantic Micro/Nano Alliance Spring Symposium 2016 (MAMNA.ORG)
3/25/2016 - The Mid-Atlantic Micro/Nano Alliance spring symposium, "Material Advantage: Pioneering Devices Enabled by Material Breakthroughs" unites technological brainpower from around the region for a collaborative event. Brendan served as the general chair and had plenty of help from fellow steering committee members. He was featured on the ARL website: http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?article=2733
Brendan Hanrahan in the Pyroelectric Energy Conversion lab
2/11/2016 - Brendan was recently featured on www.Army.mil for his work both inside the lab and out, "Army engineer known for edgy ideas that raise millions for lifesaving research"
9/1/2015 - The abstract entitled, "Radiatively Actuated Non-Linear Pyroelectric Energy Conversion Cycles" was accepted to the MRS Fall meeting. Brendan will present his recent research on the thermodynamic implications of running high frequency pyroelectric cycles
5/27/2015 - The Army Research Laboratory delegation visits the Singapore Botanical Gardens before the International Symposium on Applied Ferroelectrics presentations begin.
5/27/2015 - The Army Research Laboratory delegation visits the Singapore Botanical Gardens before the International Symposium on Applied Ferroelectrics presentations begin.
2/11/2015 - The abstract "A New Performance Regime for Pyroelectric Conversion Materials" has been accepted at the International Symposium on Applied Ferroelectrics. Brendan will present this work in Singapore in May.
2/09/2015 - Cupid's Undie Run business and founding story is recounted in the Washington Post, "Forget the chocolate and roses. They strip down for charity."
1/16/2015 - Brendan's paper "Isotropic Etching Technique for Three-Dimensional Microball Bearing Raceways" was chosen as a highlight of 2014 in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
10/17/2014 - Brendan gave an invited talk at Antalya International University in Antalya, Turkey. The talk was titled, "Pyroelectric Energy Conversion: Fundamentals and Applications"
09/09/2014 - "An Adhesion-Dominated Rolling Friction Regime Unique to Micro-scale Ball Bearings" has been published in Tribology Letters, the #1 world-wide journal on friction and wear. This paper summarizes the most significant discovery from Brendan's PhD thesis, where micro-scale ball bearings are shown to behave fundamentally differently than their large-scale counterparts.
08/13/2014 - "Pyroelectric Energy Conversion: Leakage Current and Curie Temperature" was presented at the 15th International Symposium for Electrets at John's Hopkins University, highlighting Brendan's recent work in portable power systems.
08/04/2014 - Brendan has been selected to serve on the steering committee for the Mid-Atlantic Micro/Nano Alliance (MAMNA): http://www.midatlanticmana.com
Brendan Hanrahan, leading the 2014 Cupid's Undie Run
02/17/2014 - WE DID IT! Cupid's Undie Run in 30 cities around the world, raising $2.7M for the Children's Tumor Foundation
Thank you to all of the organizers, volunteers, and runners!
Thank you to all of the organizers, volunteers, and runners!
12/19/2013 - "Isotropic etching technique for three-dimensional microball-bearing raceways" has been published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, January issue. The paper describes a patent-pending technique to obtain groove-shaped bearing raceways in silicon and was selected by the editors "for novelty, significance and potential impact on future research" link here
12/17/2013 - CUPID'S UNDIE RUN surpasses $250k ahead of the 2014 event! on track for $3M!
07/10/2013 - Runners World article on Cupid's Undie Run:
"I've run thousands of miles for myself, and one, just one lousy mile, up a hill and back, for some sick kids I had never met. And at that moment, it seemed to be the only mile I've run that's mattered" - Peter Sagal
"I've run thousands of miles for myself, and one, just one lousy mile, up a hill and back, for some sick kids I had never met. And at that moment, it seemed to be the only mile I've run that's mattered" - Peter Sagal
06/3/2013 - "An Integrated Permanent-Magnet Microturbogenerator Supported on Microball Bearings" was just published in the Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems June issue. This means that there are separate microball bearing studies in both major MEMS publications this month. link here
05/31/2013 - A microturbine designed at University of Maryland and featured in the paper "Performance of integrated retainer rings in silicon micro-turbines with thrust style micro-ball bearings" was selected for the cover picture of the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
05/31/2013 - A microturbine designed at University of Maryland and featured in the paper "Performance of integrated retainer rings in silicon micro-turbines with thrust style micro-ball bearings" was selected for the cover picture of the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
04/18/2013 - The paper entitled "Performance of integrated retainer rings in silicon micro-turbines with thrust style micro-ball bearings" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering.
02/15/2013 - Brendan earns his Ph.D. degree after successfully defending his dissertation, "Tribology of Microball Bearing MEMS"
02/10/2013 - Brendan and the Cupid's Undie Run team accomplished their goal of over $1,000,000 fundraised for the Children's Tumor Foundation
http://www.ctf.org/item/cupid-s-undie-run-raises-over-1-million.html
08/21/2012 - Brendan is profiled on the Society for Tribology and Lubrication Engineers website
http://theofficialstleblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/5-minutes-with-brendan-hanrahan-phd.html
08/16/2012 - Brendan is awarded the silver medal at the U.S. Army Summer Student Symposium for his talk "Microball Bearing Tribology: Enabling High-performance Microsystems"
http://www.isr.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=6689
03/27/2012 - Brendan wins the best student poster award for 'Off-the-Shelf MEMS for Rotary MEMS" at the Mid-Atlantic Micro-Nano Symposium http://www.midatlanticmana.com/?page_id=591
02/15/2013 - Brendan earns his Ph.D. degree after successfully defending his dissertation, "Tribology of Microball Bearing MEMS"
02/10/2013 - Brendan and the Cupid's Undie Run team accomplished their goal of over $1,000,000 fundraised for the Children's Tumor Foundation
http://www.ctf.org/item/cupid-s-undie-run-raises-over-1-million.html
08/21/2012 - Brendan is profiled on the Society for Tribology and Lubrication Engineers website
http://theofficialstleblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/5-minutes-with-brendan-hanrahan-phd.html
08/16/2012 - Brendan is awarded the silver medal at the U.S. Army Summer Student Symposium for his talk "Microball Bearing Tribology: Enabling High-performance Microsystems"
http://www.isr.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=6689
03/27/2012 - Brendan wins the best student poster award for 'Off-the-Shelf MEMS for Rotary MEMS" at the Mid-Atlantic Micro-Nano Symposium http://www.midatlanticmana.com/?page_id=591
