Energy and Environment

Worldwide population increases coupled with increased energy usage have caused serious environmental problems which frequently impact a much wider geographic area than the source. The energy and the environment group of faculty have pooled their knowledge and experience to help find long term solutions to the problems caused by increased energy usage. We have multipronged efforts to: 1) reduce the energy usage by developing more efficient means of converting chemical energy into electrical energy such as fuel cells and fuel processors; 2) Clean up exhaust emissions of plants and engines as well as destroy toxic pollutants by environmentally acceptable methods, 3) develop more environmentally acceptable and sustainable methods of synthesis ,4) invent more energy efficient gas separation/purification and storage, and 5) fabricate micromachined power sources to replace batteries. As a result of the common focus we have pooled our efforts to develop a 10kW fuel processor for DOE over the next four years and advance the state of fuel processor catalysts and reactors in the process. The group collaborates extensively with other engineering faculty to further research in energy and environment