Michael A. Filler
Assistant Professor
Contact Information
Building: Ford ES&T
Office:
L1218
Phone: 404.894.0430
Fax: 404.894.2866
email
Mailing Address
Georgia Institute of Technology
School of Chemical &
Biomolecular Engineering
311 Ferst Drive, N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30332-0100
Links
Michael A. Filler
Education
B.S. 2000, Cornell University
M.S. 2003, Stanford University
Ph.D. 2006, Stanford University
Research Interests
The focus of Dr. Filler’s research program is the development of nanostructured materials and architectures for the next generation of solar energy conversion technologies. An atomic-level understanding of the bulk and interfacial phenomena in such structures is necessary to enable the rational design of high efficiency devices. To this end, systems under study are interrogated with a variety of in-situ spectroscopy and ex-situ microscopy techniques.
In the area of photovoltaics, alloy and heterostructure nanowires are under investigation to achieve energy conversion efficiencies in excess of the Shockley-Queisser limit. Many of the properties inherent to the nanowire geometry, such as quantum confinement and strain relaxation, offer exciting opportunities to create novel solar harvesting materials to realize this goal. Group-IV elements and their alloys are a particular focus because they are earth-abundant, non-toxic, and may permit band gap engineering throughout the solar spectrum.
Plasmonic photocatalysts are under development to enable the efficient storage of solar energy via the production of solar fuels. The synergistic combination of plasmonic and catalytic materials has the potential to improve the reactivity and selectivity of chemical transformations by enabling solar energy to be concentrated at a photocatalytic site. Chemical pathways of principal interest include the overtone and multiple photon excitation/reaction of current fuels (e.g. CH4) and potential renewable feedstocks (e.g. H2O, CO2, and N2).
Dr. Filler is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), and the American Vacuum Society (AVS).