Yu Pan

Yu Pan has long focused on thermoelectric materials research, particularly in the area of topological thermoelectrics. During her PhD at Tsinghua University, her research centered on the thermoelectric transport properties and performance optimization of bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃)-based thermoelectric semiconductors.

Because Bi₂Te₃-based alloys are topological insulators with unique electronic band structures and also because thermoelectric performance is closely tied to band structure and electron transport, she began exploring the intrinsic connection between thermoelectricity and band topology during her postdoctoral work. This marked a shift from classical thermoelectric semiconductors to topological semimetals, aiming to introduce new perspectives to thermoelectric research through the lens of topological physics.

Leveraging the transport characteristics of various thermoelectric effects such as the Seebeck and (anomalous) Nernst effects, she proposed targeted material design strategies to enhance performance. These strategies were successfully applied across multiple material systems, leading to the pioneering development of topological quantum materials with giant anomalous Nernst, large Nernst, and large magneto-Seebeck effects, laying a strong foundation for the next generation of thermoelectric materials.

She was the first to demonstrate dramatically enhanced magneto-Seebeck thermoelectric performance under a very small magnetic field (0.7 Tesla, achievable with a permanent magnet), breaking the world record for the low-temperature (<300 K) thermoelectric figure of merit. She further elucidated how linear Dirac band dispersion and Zeeman splitting in topological materials play a crucial role in amplifying the magneto-Seebeck effect. Her work opens a promising path toward a new generation of noiseless, vibration-free, portable, and low-cost solid-state refrigeration technologies with disruptive potential.