Two-thirds of the energy generated by conventional power stations is lost as waste heat to cooling towers. A similar percentage of the energy locked up in the fuel you put in your car is lost the same way from the exhaust pipe. But what if that wasted heat could be mopped up and converted into usable electricity? Efficient thermoelectric devices are key to our ability to harvest thermal energy from many sources, among them waste heat lost in traditional electricity production and through automobile exhaust. In his work, Zlatan explores how exploiting temperature gradients across thermoelectric devices can convert heat energy directly into electrical energy without any need for moving parts like turbines.