Thermal properties as a research area focuses on the quantitative characterization, prediction, and control of how materials and systems store, conduct, and exchange heat. It encompasses investigation of thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, thermal expansion, and related transport coefficients across temperature, pressure, and phase regimes. Research typically integrates experimental calorimetry and thermal analysis, steady-state and transient heat-flow methods, and atomistic or continuum simulations to elucidate phonon, electron, and radiative contributions. This domain underpins advances in thermal management, energy conversion, high-temperature materials, cryogenics, and micro/nanoscale heat transfer, often coupling with mechanical, electrical, and structural behavior.
In many quantum materials—materials with unusual electrical and magnetic properties driven by quantum mechanical effects—electrons can organize themselves into Landau levels. Landau levels are essentially quantized energy ...
People spend 90% of their lives in buildings, which act as a protective "third skin" from the elements, but climates are becoming more extreme and so the design of places we live and work in must be radically overhauled to ...
Environment
Feb 25, 2026
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The properties of a quantum material are driven by links between its electrons known as quantum correlations. A RIKEN researcher has shown mathematically that, at non-zero temperatures, these connections can only exist over ...
Quantum Physics
Feb 6, 2026
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When cooled to its superconducting state, niobium blocks the radiative flow of heat 20 times better than when in its metallic state, according to a study led by a University of Michigan Engineering team. The experiment marks ...
Superconductivity
Feb 3, 2026
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A major challenge in thermal-management and thermal-insulation technologies, across multiple industries, is the lack of materials that simultaneously offer low thermal conductivity, mechanical robustness, and scalable fabrication ...
Condensed Matter
Jan 28, 2026
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Graphene has drawn attention as a scientific curiosity owing to its record conductivities, strength and thermal properties. But now, it's starting to make its way into a number of real-world applications, from batteries to ...
Beyond their sparkle, diamonds have hidden talents. They shed heat better than any material, tolerate extreme temperatures and radiation, and handle high voltages while wasting almost no electricity—ideal traits for compact, ...
Nanophysics
Jan 23, 2026
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Prof. Gal Shmuel of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology has developed an innovative approach that enables precise control of heat conduction in ways that do not occur naturally.
General Physics
Jan 13, 2026
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As the weather grows cold this winter, you may be one of the many Americans pulling their winter jackets out of the closet. Not only can this extra layer keep you warm on a chilly day, but modern winter jackets are also a ...
General Physics
Dec 29, 2025
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NIMS, in joint research with the University of Tokyo, AIST, the University of Osaka, and Tohoku University, have proposed a novel method for actively controlling heat flow in solids by utilizing the transport of magnons—quasiparticles ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 29, 2025
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