Research Fusion Spring 2024
Research Council’s Research Fusion event took place on April 1st in the Student Center Ballrooms B & C at 12:00 pm. Presenters included:
- Tzahi Cath (CEE) – “New Frontiers in Direct Potable Reuse of Reclaimed Water”
- Ramya Kumar (CBE) – “Engineering Polymers for Cell and Gene Therapy”
- Adam Olsen (Library) – “Library Research Guide Usability Guide”
- Matthew Crane (CBE) – “Establishing Design Rules for Nanomaterial Applications via In Situ Spectroscopies”
- Mike Wakin (EE) – “Structured inference for signals and data”
- Qiuhua Huang (EE) – “Convergence of AI, Physics, Computing, and Control for Energy Transformation”
- Brennan Sprinkle (AMS) – “Simulating Fluid Dynamics to Inform Experiments”
- Diego Gomez-Gauldron (CBE) – “Computational Design of Combinatorial Materials for Energy Application”
Research Fusion Spring 2022
Research Council’s second Research Fusion took place on April 20 in the McNeil Room of the Student Recreation Center (by the Lockridge Arena) at 12:00 pm! Presenters included:
- Rockwell Clancy, Qin Zhu (HASS) – “Responsible Engineering Across Cultures”
- Rennie Kaunda (MN) – “Remediation of Abandoned Mines Sites”
- Geoff Brennecka (MME) – “New Nitride Ferroelectrics”
- Kathleen Hancock (HASS) – “New Actors in the Politics of Renewable Energy in the US and Beyond”
- Chris Elvidge (Payne Institute) – “Nightly Global Monitoring of Gas Flaring”
- Katharina Pfaff (GGE) – “Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Subsurface: Understanding Domestic Critical Mineral Resources”
- William Fleckenstein (PE) – “FORGE EGS Geothermal Project”
- Jonathan Lovekin (CGS) – “Debris Flow Early Warning Systems”
- Salman Mohagheghi (EE) – “Power Grid Resilience Against Natural Disasters”
- Ian Lange (EB) – “An Insider’s View on Resource Policy in the White House”
Research Fusion Fall 2021
Research Council’s first Research Fusion took place on November 4, 2021 at 2pm in the Boettcher Room. The following presented:
- Dylan Hickson, GP “Modeling the Ice Caps on Mars from Radar Sounding Data”
- Mike McGuirk, CH “Chemical Recycling of Plastics”
- Feng Chi Hsu, Payne Institute “Nighttime Remote Sensing of Human Activities”
- Bel Gilbert, EB “Economics of Flaring and Methane Emissions” – Requested video not be posted.
- Eliza Buhrer, HASS “History of Pandemics”
- Christopher Thiry, LB “Mapping Racism in Jefferson County, Colorado Real Estate”
- Lewis Blake, AMS “Computational Developments and Applications of the Multi-resolution Approximation of Massive Spatial Data”
- Corby Anderson, MN “Critical Minerals and Metals”
Research Lecture 2024
Research Council’s Research Lecture was hosted on March 13th at 12:00 pm by Matthew Siegfried, 2023 Junior Excellence in Research Award Winner.
Big Data, Meet Long Data: Examining Decadal-Scale Variability of Ice-Ocean-Freshwater Processes in Antarctica
Matthew Siegfried, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Geophysics
Research Lecture 2022
The second Research Lecture was hosted March 31 at 3pm by Robert Braun, 2021 Senior Excellence in Research Award Winner.
Prospects of Emerging Electrochemical Energy Systems for Energy Storage and Conversion
Robert Braun, Ph.D.
Rowlinson Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Director Mines/NREL Advanced Energy Systems Program
Abstract: This presentation will highlight research accomplishments related to emerging solid oxide cell and protonic ceramic electrolyzer technologies, which are increasingly being targeted as attractive distributed energy solutions. Movement towards predominately low-carbon energy systems requires renewable resources and could be accelerated by integration with high temperature electrochemical technologies. Currently, substantial penetration of wind and solar resources into the electric power grid is challenged by their intermittency and the timing of generation which can place huge ramping requirements on central utility plants. This talk will discuss advances being made in distributed power generation, novel electrical energy storage systems derived from reversible fuel cell technology, and advances in protonic ceramics as dispatchable energy resources. In particular, full-scale hybrid fuel cell/engine system development progress targeting 70% electric efficiency will be highlighted. Reversible solid oxide cells (ReSOCs) are capable of providing high efficiency and cost-effective electrical energy storage. These systems operate sequentially between fuel-producing electrolysis and power-producing fuel-cell modes with storage of reactants and products (CO2/CH4 gases) in tanks for smaller-scale (kW) applications and between grid and natural gas infrastructures for larger scale (MW) systems. Physics-based modeling and simulation of these novel energy systems is a central element to our work, supporting and guiding technology development. The developed models are used to accelerate the design and development of hybrid fuel cell systems, as well as ReSOC and protonic ceramic electrolyzer technologies for both grid-scale energy storage and as a Power-to-Gas platform that can address issues with high renewables penetration. Peformance characteristics, scale-up and demonstration activities, and techno-economic outlook of these ceramic electrochemical energy conversion technologies are summarized.
Research Lecture 2021
The first Research Lecture was hosted November 30 at 2pm in the Boettcher room by Mohsen Asle Zaeem, 2021 Junior Excellence in Research Award Winner.
Quantitative and Transferable Computational Models for Study and Design of Advanced Materials
Mohsen Asle Zaeem, Ph.D., FASME
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Fryrear Endowed Chair for Innovation and Excellence
Director of Computational Materials & Mechanics Laboratory
Abstract: Predicting and controlling the process-structure-property relations in materials play important roles in study and design of advanced materials. With the recent progress in supercomputing, computational modeling and numerical simulations have become commanding modules in designing of new generation of high-performance and smart materials in a faster pace. In this talk, different transferrable computational models, integrating the density functional theory, molecular dynamics and phase-field approaches, will be presented to quantitatively simulate the nano and microstructures and determine the properties of different material systems. Computational examples will include study of: 1) electronic structures and properties of 2D materials for sensing and energy storage applications, 2) nano/microstructure evolution during solidification/crystallization of metals and alloys, and 3) structure-property relations in shape memory functional oxides and alloys for applications in thermo-electro-mechanical actuators.