The 18th China Conference on Thermoelectric Materials and Applications Hosted by HIT

HIT Media Center (Text by Shuangyu Li; Photos by the Conference Organizing Committee) The 18th China Conference on Thermoelectric Materials and Applications was recently held in Harbin. The conference was organized by the Chinese Thermoelectric Society, Chinese Materials Research Society (CTS-CMRS), hosted by Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), and co-organized by Harbin University of Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Jilin University, and Inner Mongolia University. Zhe Zhang, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Department of Heilongjiang Province; Academician Yuanhua Lin of Tsinghua University, Chair of the CTS-CMRS; and Academician Jiecai Han, President of HIT, attended the opening ceremony and delivered addresses. Nearly 700 participants including Academician Qingjie Zhang of Wuhan University of Technology, Academician Lidong Chen of the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as experts, scholars, young researchers and student representatives from universities, research institutes and related enterprises across China, attended the conference.

Opening Ceremony

Zhe Zhang highlighted the vital applications of thermoelectric materials in deep-space exploration, semiconductors, solid-state cooling and industrial waste heat recovery. She remarked that hosting the conference in Harbin provided a valuable opportunity for Heilongjiang Province to forge closer ties with top-tier national research and innovation resources, facilitating academic exchanges and technological collaboration.

Zhe Zhang delivers a speech.

Yuanhua Lin reviewed the development of the CTS-CMRS and its series of academic conferences. He voiced his hope that the conference could further strengthen its role as a platform for academic exchanges. He also encouraged young researchers to uphold rigorous academic traditions, pursue innovative exploration, and collectively drive the sustainable advancement of China’s thermoelectric research community.

Yuanhua Lin delivers a speech.

Jiecai Han stated that thermoelectric materials constitute a key interdisciplinary research field. HIT will fully leverage its institutional strengths and continue to conduct in-depth research on high-performance thermoelectric devices and their applications. He expressed his expectation that the conference would further gather leading research expertise, deepen academic communication and cooperation, and jointly advance innovation and development in the field of thermoelectric materials and devices in China.

Jiecai Han delivers a speech.

The China Conference on Thermoelectric Materials and Applications is an important platform for academic communication in China’s thermoelectric field. Focusing on topics including thermoelectric transport theory and novel mechanisms, this conference featured plenary lectures and presentations across four parallel sessions. Professor Wenyu Zhao of Wuhan University of Technology, Researcher Xun Shi of the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor Tiejun Zhu of Zhejiang University, and Professor Lidong Zhao of Beihang University delivered plenary talks in sequence, sharing their latest research findings and discussing cutting-edge scientific issues.

Participants also engaged in in-depth discussions on promoting the coordinated development of fundamental research, technological innovation, and engineering applications in the thermoelectric field, as well as strengthening scientific research cooperation.

Plenary lectures

The membership list of the Council of CTS-CMRS was announced at the opening ceremony. The first meeting of the 5th Council of the Branch was convened concurrently with the conference.

Council meeting