Precourt Institute for Energy
Showing 51-60 of 112 Results
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Gianluca Iaccarino
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsComputing and data for energy, health and engineering
Challenges in energy sciences, green technology, transportation, and in general, engineering design and prototyping are routinely tackled using numerical simulations and physical testing. Computations barely feasible two decades ago on the largest available supercomputers, have now become routine using turnkey commercial software running on a laptop. Demands on the analysis of new engineering systems are becoming more complex and multidisciplinary in nature, but exascale-ready computers are on the horizon. What will be the next frontier? Can we channel this enormous power into an increased ability to simulate and, ultimately, to predict, design and control? In my opinion two roadblocks loom ahead: the development of credible models for increasingly complex multi-disciplinary engineering applications and the design of algorithms and computational strategies to cope with real-world uncertainty.
My research objective is to pursue concerted innovations in physical modeling, numerical analysis, data fusion, probabilistic methods, optimization and scientific computing to fundamentally change our present approach to engineering simulations relevant to broad areas of fluid mechanics, transport phenomena and energy systems. The key realization is that computational engineering has largely ignored natural variability, lack of knowledge and randomness, targeting an idealized deterministic world. Embracing stochastic scientific computing and data/algorithms fusion will enable us to minimize the impact of uncertainties by designing control and optimization strategies that are robust and adaptive. This goal can only be accomplished by developing innovative computational algorithms and new, physics-based models that explicitly represent the effect of limited knowledge on the quantity of interest.
Multidisciplinary Teaching
I consider the classical boundaries between disciplines outdated and counterproductive in seeking innovative solutions to real-world problems. The design of wind turbines, biomedical devices, jet engines, electronic units, and almost every other engineering system requires the analysis of their flow, thermal, and structural characteristics to ensure optimal performance and safety. The continuing growth of computer power and the emergence of general-purpose engineering software has fostered the use of computational analysis as a complement to experimental testing in multiphysics settings. Virtual prototyping is a staple of modern engineering practice! I have designed a new undergraduate course as an introduction to Computational Engineering, covering theory and practice across multidisciplanary applications. The emphasis is on geometry modeling, mesh generation, solution strategy and post-processing for diverse applications. Using classical flow/thermal/structural problems, the course develops the essential concepts of Verification and Validation for engineering simulations, providing the basis for assessing the accuracy of the results. -
Rob Jackson
Michelle and Kevin Douglas Provostial Professor and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioRob Jackson and his lab examine the many ways people affect the Earth. They produce basic scientific knowledge and use it to help shape policies and reduce the environmental footprint of global warming, energy extraction, and other environmental issues. They're currently examining the effects of climate change and drought on old-growth forests. They are also working to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Global Carbon Project (globalcarbonproject.org), which Jackson chairs. Examples of new research Rob leads include establishing a global network of methane tower measurements across the Amazon and more than 100 sites worldwide and measuring and reducing methane emissions and air pollution from oil and gas wells, city streets, and homes and buildings.
Rob's new book on climate solutions, Into the Clear Blue Sky (Scribner and Penguin Random House), was named a "Top Science Book of 2024" by The Times. As an author and photographer, Rob has published a previous trade book about the environment (The Earth Remains Forever, University of Texas Press), two books of children’s poems, Animal Mischief and Weekend Mischief (Highlights Magazine and Boyds Mills Press), and recent or forthcoming poems in the journals Southwest Review, Cortland Review, Cold Mountain Review, Atlanta Review, LitHub, and more. His photographs have appeared in many media outlets, including the NY Times, Washington Post, USA Today, US News and World Report, Science, Nature, and National Geographic News.
Rob won this year's Blue Planet Prize and is a recent Djerassi artist in residence, Guggenheim Fellow, and sabbatical visitor in the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union, and Ecological Society of America. He received a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering from the National Science Foundation, awarded at the White House. -
Mark Z. Jacobson
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioMark Z. Jacobson’s career has focused on better understanding air pollution and global warming problems and developing large-scale clean, renewable energy solutions to them. Toward that end, he has developed and applied three-dimensional atmosphere-biosphere-ocean computer models and solvers to simulate air pollution, weather, climate, and renewable energy. He has also developed roadmaps to transition states and countries to 100% clean, renewable energy for all purposes and computer models to examine grid stability in the presence of high penetrations of renewable energy.
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Thomas Jaramillo
Professor of Chemical Engineering, of Energy Science Engineering, of Photon Science and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioRecent years have seen unprecedented motivation for the emergence of new energy technologies. Global dependence on fossil fuels, however, will persist until alternate technologies can compete economically. We must develop means to produce energy (or energy carriers) from renewable sources and then convert them to work as efficiently and cleanly as possible. Catalysis is energy conversion, and the Jaramillo laboratory focuses on fundamental catalytic processes occurring on solid-state surfaces in both the production and consumption of energy. Chemical-to-electrical and electrical-to-chemical energy conversion are at the core of the research. Nanoparticles, metals, alloys, sulfides, nitrides, carbides, phosphides, oxides, and biomimetic organo-metallic complexes comprise the toolkit of materials that can help change the energy landscape. Tailoring catalyst surfaces to fit the chemistry is our primary challenge.
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Ramesh Johari
Professor of Management Science and Engineering and, by courtesy, of Electrical Engineering
BioJohari is broadly interested in the design, economic analysis, and operation of online platforms, as well as statistical and machine learning techniques used by these platforms (such as search, recommendation, matching, and pricing algorithms).
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Leigh Johnson
Academic Research & Program Officer, Precourt Institute for Energy
BioLeigh works closely with the faculty co-directors and staff to implement the institute’s vision and strategic direction. She manages a team who supports the energy research, education and outreach mission of the institute and Stanford broadly. The institute serves as the hub for over 200 faculty across the university who conduct energy research, students from Stanford’s seven schools, and staff from energy programs and centers across Stanford. Outreach activities engage stakeholders from industry, government and non-governmental organizations, academia and the Stanford alumni community in an energy ecosystem. Activities that serve this broad constituency include several annual conferences, topical workshops, student programs and the weekly Stanford Energy Seminar. The team covers energy news and information across the university through articles in Stanford Report, the institute's website, the monthly Stanford Energy News and social media.
Leigh started at Stanford in 2003 as project development director for the Provost Committee for the Environment, and as the first employee she served as associate director of programs at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment where she worked for seven years on a wide-range of entrepreneurial and programmatic activities. Prior to joining Stanford, Leigh worked in public relations at Regis McKenna Inc. and sales at IBM. Non-profit commitments have included: president of the Las Lomitas Education Foundation, president of the Ragazzi Boys Chorus Board of Directors, and docent for Y2E2 building tours. Leigh holds an A.B. degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College. -
Matthew Kanan
Professor of Chemistry and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioMatt Kanan is a Professor of Chemistry and Director of the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford. Matt’s research group addresses challenges in energy conversion, sustainable resource utilization, and carbon dioxide removal. Their work has led to several inventions in these areas, including process technology that utilizes CO2 to streamline chemical production, metal-free CO2 hydrogenation catalysts that improve the efficiency of sustainable fuel synthesis, membrane-free electrochemical systems to generate acid and base from water, and thermochemical methods to activate silicate rocks for CO2 removal. Matt is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor for ReSource Chemical Corp., an Oakland-based start-up commercializing a process created in his group to produce performance-advantaged plastics from CO2 and inedible biomass. At the TomKat Center, Matt directs programs that help Stanford students and researchers develop and commercialize innovations that impact energy and sustainability. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 2009, Matt did his Ph.D. studies in organic chemistry at Harvard and postdoctoral research at MIT in inorganic chemistry. He earned his B.A. in chemistry from Rice University in 2000.
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Chi-Chang Kao
Professor of Photon Science and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioChi-Chang Kao works on the development of experimental methods exploiting the unique properties of high-brightness storage rings and X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFEL), and their applications to materials science. Currently, he is working on using X-ray scattering in combination with high magnetic fields to study high-temperature superconductors, inelastic X-ray scattering study of materials using XFEL, and X-ray study of materials for energy applications.
Kao served as the fifth director of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory from November 2012 to February 2023. Prior to that, he served at Brookhaven National Laboratory for nearly 25 years in a variety of positions, including five years as chairperson of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS). He was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in 2006 and was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2010 for his many contributions to resonant elastic and inelastic X-ray scattering techniques and their application to materials physics, as well as for his leadership at the NSLS. -
Omer Karaduman
Assistant Professor of Operations, Information and Technology at the Graduate School of Business and Center Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioPrior to coming to Stanford, Omer completed his Ph.D. in Economics at MIT in 2020, and got his bachelor's degree in Economics from Bilkent University in 2014.
His research focuses on the transition of the energy sector towards a decarbonized and sustainable future. In his research, he utilizes large datasets by using game-theoretical modeling to have practical policy suggestions. -
Hemamala Karunadasa
J.G. Jackson and C.J. Wood Professor of Chemistry and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering
BioProfessor Hema Karunadasa works with colleagues in materials science, earth science, and applied physics to drive the discovery of new materials with applications in clean energy. Using the tools of synthetic chemistry, her group designs materials that couple the structural tunability of organic molecules with the diverse electronic and optical properties of extended inorganic solids. This research targets materials such as sorbents for capturing environmental pollutants, phosphors for solid-state lighting, and absorbers for solar cells.
Hemamala Karunadasa studied chemistry and materials science at Princeton University (A.B. with high honors 2003; Certificate in Materials Science and Engineering 2003), where her undergraduate thesis project with Professor Robert J. Cava examined geometric magnetic frustration in metal oxides. She moved from solid-state chemistry to solution-state chemistry for her doctoral studies in inorganic chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 2009) with Professor Jeffrey R. Long. Her thesis focused on heavy atom building units for magnetic molecules and molecular catalysts for generating hydrogen from water. She continued to study molecular electrocatalysts for water splitting during postdoctoral research with Berkeley Professors Christopher J. Chang and Jeffrey R. Long at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. She further explored molecular catalysts for hydrocarbon oxidation as a postdoc at the California Institute of Technology with Professor Harry B. Gray. She joined the Stanford Chemistry Department faculty in September 2012. Her research explores solution-state routes to new solid-state materials.
Professor Karunadasa’s lab at Stanford takes a molecular approach to extended solids. Lab members gain expertise in solution- and solid-state synthetic techniques and structure determination through powder- and single-crystal x-ray diffraction. Lab tools also include a host of spectroscopic and electrochemical probes, imaging methods, and film deposition techniques. Group members further characterize their materials under extreme environments and in operating devices to tune new materials for diverse applications in renewable energy.
Please visit the lab website for more details and recent news.