Dr. Eric Tervo is an Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and of Mechanical Engineering. He also holds a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. His research focuses on developing semiconductor materials and devices for energy conversion and thermal management through the study of combined heat, light, and charge transfer processes. This includes thermal energy conversion devices such as thermophotovoltaic cells, solid-state refrigeration processes, and approaches for active control of heat transfer in nanoengineered materials. Through this research, he works to address global energy challenges and help create efficient and sustainable energy infrastructure for a broad variety of applications.

Prior to joining UW-Madison, he was the Nozik Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he designed, fabricated, and characterized thermal energy conversion devices including thermophotovoltaic cells and thermoradiative cells.  He completed his Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he developed theoretical and computational methods to study thermal radiation in nanoscale materials. He also worked as an engineer at Southwest Research Institute, where he conducted fluid dynamics research for oil and gas industry applications.