Jeff Urban

LBNL Staff Scientist

jjurban@lbl.gov
phone: 510-486-4526

Education
B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D Physical Chemistry Harvard University
Postdoctoral Fellow IBM (Chris Murray) and MSU (Mercouri Kanatzidis)

General Research Interests
I am interested in the development of new materials and measurement tools for solid-state energy conversion applications. On the materials side, I am most interested in multicomponent materials, whether as binary nanocrystal superlattices, incorporating quantum dots into conducting polymers, or as multilayer thin films. By creating multicomponent materials out of well-characterized subunits, I hope to create novel composite materials with properties not currently existing in nature.

On the measurement side, I am currently most interested in studying the processes of charge and heat transport in solid-state devices. Most of the intuition we have developed for the operation of these materials is rooted in continuum transport models, however, what happens to heat transport when the active layers are less than an average mean free path? How does the physics of charge transport change in a p-n junction when the system size is smaller than a typical depletion length?

Currently, I have active projects in the areas of thermoelectrics, photovoltaics, and energy level alignments at nanoscale interfaces. I have also recently initiated a project in solid-state gas storage, with a focus on hydrogen storage.

MSD Research Projects:
Molecular Foundry: the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility program

Personal Website: http://foundry.lbl.gov/science/inorganic/inorganic_urban.html