David Carroll
Director, Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials
Carroll and his research team aim to provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Biography
Using technology at a nanoscopic scale, David Carroll and his research team aim to provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems: the need for affordable “green” or alternative energy sources and reliable treatments for deadly cancers. In the green technology field, Carroll’s research has yielded a new class of flexible, affordable solar… Read More »
Using technology at a nanoscopic scale, David Carroll and his research team aim to provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems: the need for affordable “green” or alternative energy sources and reliable treatments for deadly cancers.
In the green technology field, Carroll’s research has yielded a new class of flexible, affordable solar cells; several replacements for energy-burning incandescent and dangerous compact fluorescent light bulbs; and a fabric that can power a cell phone using the caller’s body heat. In the medical field, Carroll has developed nanotechnology that heats tumors until they die. Another nano-scale treatment helps surgeons regulate pressure in arms and legs during reconstructive surgery – greatly reducing the risk of amputation. He holds 12 patents and has been quoted in Discover magazine, the Raleigh News & Observer and WFDD.
Media Appearances
The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation: Cloth electricity
CBS News
December 16, 2014
Carroll was interviewed for this segment that focused on Power Felt, a thermoelectric device that can potentially turn body heat into an electrical current.
“I see power as mobile, power is dynamic, power is you; your motion, the heat that you generate,” he said.
Professor invents the best new lightbulb in 30 years
Business Insider
January 22, 2013
Lighting accounts for about 12 percent of total U.S. energy consumption.
Part of the reason the figure is so high is that traditional incandescent bulbs (Edison’s filament bulb) eat up a lot of power to produce light: 90 percent of the energy is wasted as heat.
'Power Felt' could charge cell phones using body heat
HuffPost
March 5, 2012
Charging your cell phone may soon require only two items: a simple piece of fabric and your body.
Researchers at Wake Forest University have developed a “Power Felt” that uses thermoelectric technology to charge devices such as cell phones, according to a press release issued by the school.
All Experts
More Information
Areas of Expertise
- Biomedical nanotechnologies
- Environmental/health effects of carbon nanotubes
- Green Technology
- Nanocomposite-based display and lighting technologies
- Nanotechnology
- Nanotechnology and medicine/tumor eradication
- Organic solar cells
- Solar/photovoltaic cells
- Thermoelectric Power Felt
- Thermoelectrics
- “Green” lighting/light bulb alternatives
Education
Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung: Research Associate, Physics
University of Pennsylvania: Postdoctoral Associate, Physics
Wesleyan University: Ph.D., Physics
North Carolina State University: B.S., Physics
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