PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Bosch has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation, under the joint National Science Foundation and Department of Energy partnership on Thermoelectric Devices for Vehicle Applications. The grant is titled "Automotive Thermoelectric Modules with Scalable Thermo- and Electro-Mechanical Interfaces," and was awarded to a collaboration among Stanford University, the University of South Florida and Bosch's Research and Technology Center North America.

The $1.2 million grant, which will last for three years, will address the most pressing engineering and scientific aspects of thermoelectric devices for vehicles. These solid-state devices can harvest waste heat in vehicles by converting it to useful electrical energy and thereby leading to an increase in overall vehicle fuel economy.

"We are pleased that the National Science Foundation selected Bosch and its university partners to receive this competitive grant," said Peter Marks, chairman, president and CEO, Robert Bosch LLC. "Bosch is a demonstrated global leader in innovation, and maintains a strong commitment to research and development. Even today, nearly the half of Bosch's R&D spending goes into the development of products that protect the environment and conserve resources."

Bosch will provide its expertise in the fields of quantum mechanics and computational fluid dynamics. Using computer simulation methods at the atomistic level, Bosch researchers will investigate how to decrease inefficiencies present in contacts between different materials in the device. Conversely, using computer simulations at the device level, Bosch researchers will seek to increase overall efficiency by appropriate design and thermal management. Overall, this research project will advance the state-of-the-art toward an automotive-grade durable thermoelectric device that can harvest an increased amount of waste heat.

In addition, the research will be integrated with education and outreach activities to promote interest in energy technologies amongst the wider community. The education activities include potentially expanding current undergraduate courses at Stanford and University of South Florida, and adding course subjects on thermoelectrics. As part of the outreach activities, Stanford University also plans to partner with a local K-12 school in one of the region's most economically challenged communities by offering graduate student teaching assistance in energy and engineering topics, and inviting high school teachers and select students to participate in summer internships at Stanford labs.

In 1999, Bosch established the Research and Technology Center (RTC) North America with offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and Pittsburgh, Penn. An additional office was opened in 2007 in Cambridge, Mass.