Center for Energy
Overview
Researchers in Pitt’s Center for Energy are answering the call for more reliable, efficient, and environmentally friendly energy solutions.
Highlights:
Using the Earth’s Most Abundant Element
Hydrogen-based fuel cells and other hydrogen-fueled technologies can be important alternative energy sources for the future, but a major problem is the storage of hydrogen. Chemical engineering professor J. Karl Johnson is tackling the challenges of hydrogen storage with the use of carbon nanotubes.
A New Generation of Solar Energy
Chemistry professor David Waldeck and his group are probing the nature of light-matter interactions for nanostructures and molecular assemblies. Their work (nanophotonics) aims to better understand the optical properties of nanostructures and how to exploit them for a variety of applications, including energy conversion.
Forcing Greenhouse Gases Underground
Clean coal technology exploration is not complete without a discussion of CO2 capture and storage. Professor of geology William Harbart and his team are using seismic data to monitor specific geological reservoirs before and after CO2 injections are made—possibly leading to a role in risk management protocol.
A Nuclear Reactor as a Teaching Tool
Information sciences professor Ken Sochats developed a virtual reality nuclear reactor—a computer simulation of a nuclear power plant that is being used to educate a future workforce. The program is a partnership with the nuclear division of Westinghouse.
The Very Model of Engine Efficiency
Mechanical engineering professors Peyman Givi and Jeffrey Vipperman show how they can build computer simulations of engines and virtually test the combustion of various types of fuels without spending thousands, or sometimes millions, of dollars on the real thing.
Contact: Morgan Kelly, senior news representative, 412-624-4356 (office); 412-897-1400 (cell); mekelly@pitt.edu