  This work demonstrates a first-principles-based approach to obtaining finite
temperature thermal and electronic transport properties which can be employed
to model and understand mesoscale structural evolution during electronic,
magnetic, and structural phase transitions. A computationally tractable model
was introduced to estimate the temperature dependence of the electron
relaxation time. The model is applied to Ca3Ru2O7 with a focus on understanding
its electrical resistivity across the electronic phase transition at 48 K. A
quasiharmonic phonon approach to the lattice vibrations was employed to account
for thermal expansion while the Boltzmann transport theory including spin-orbit
coupling was used to calculate the electron-transport properties, including the
temperature dependence of electrical conductivity.
