Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 1-50 of 171 Results
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Ammar Alali
Ph.D. Student in Energy Resources Engineering, admitted Autumn 2023
BioI'm Ammar, a PhD student in Energy Science Engineering who is working with Hamdi Tchelepi. I got my master's degree from Stanford in 2018, and since then I have been working with Aramco as part of the development teams of two projects for Underground Gas Storage and CCUS to be developed for the first time in Saudi Arabia. My masters research was focused on numerical reservoir simulation of capillary-dominated flow in matrix-fracture systems using interface conditions. In my free time, I enjoy reading modern poetry and watching classic films.
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Folasade Ayoola
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Spring 2019
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDeep decarbonization of large-scale energy systems, exploring low-carbon transition pathway alternatives for oil-dependent countries, with a focus on Nigeria.
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Ines M. L. Azevedo
Professor of Energy Science Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Earth System Science
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProfessor Azevedo is passionate about solving problems that include environmental, technical, economic, and policy issues, where traditional engineering approaches play an important role but cannot provide a complete answer. In particular, she is interested in assessing how energy systems are likely to evolve, which requires comprehensive knowledge of the technologies that can address future energy needs and the decision-making process followed by various agents in the economy.
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Khalid Aziz
Otto N. Miller Professor in the School of Earth Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOptimization and reservoir Simulation.
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Ilenia Battiato
Associate Professor of Energy Science Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnergy and environment (battery systems; superhydrophobicity and drag reduction; carbon sequestration); multiscale, mesoscale and hybrid simulations (multiphase and reactive transport processes); effective medium theories; perturbation methods, homogenization and upscaling.
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Isabela Beine
Masters Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Autumn 2024
BioResearching hydrogen storage in porous media. Interest in energy storage solutions for renewable energy sources.
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Sally Benson
Precourt Family Professor, Professor of Energy Science Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy research is focused on reducing the risks of climate change by developing energy supplies with low carbon emissions. Students and post-doctoral fellows in my research group work on carbon dioxide storage, energy systems analysis, and pathways for transitioning to a low-carbon energy system.
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Stacey Bent
Jagdeep & Roshni Singh Professor in the School of Eng, Professor of Energy Science and Eng, Senior Fellow at Precourt & Prof, by courtesy, of Electrical Eng, Materials Sci Eng & Chemistry
BioThe research in the Bent laboratory is focused on understanding and controlling surface and interfacial chemistry and applying this knowledge to a range of problems in semiconductor processing, micro- and nano-electronics, nanotechnology, and sustainable and renewable energy. Much of the research aims to develop a molecular-level understanding in these systems, and hence the group uses of a variety of molecular probes. Systems currently under study in the group include functionalization of semiconductor surfaces, mechanisms and control of atomic layer deposition, molecular layer deposition, nanoscale materials for light absorption, interface engineering in photovoltaics, catalyst and electrocatalyst deposition.
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Karan Bhuwalka
Research Engineer
BioDr. Karan Bhuwalka leads the materials supply chain modeling at STEER, a research group that conducts rigorous techno-economic analysis to guide investment, innovation, and policy for the energy transition. Karan's research integrates economics, statistics, manufacturing and materials science to identify pathways to sustainably scale-up critical minerals production. Scaling-up energy supply chains rapidly while minimising life-cycle impacts requires aligning technology, markets and policies. STEER takes a systems approach that links engineering process models with supply and demand considerations to inform decision-making under uncertainty. Karan's current work is focused on modeling graphite production. Previous work spans lithium, nickel, recycled plastics systems and Bayesian modeling to reduce uncertainity in material demand.
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Adam Brandt
Professor of Energy Science Engineering and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGreenhouse gas emissions, energy systems optimization, mathematical modeling of resource depletion, life cycle analysis
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Catherine (Hay) Callas
Ph.D. Student in Energy Resources Engineering, admitted Spring 2020
BioCatherine Callas is a Ph.D. candidate in the Benson Lab in Energy Resources Engineering. She is an ExxonMobil Emerging Energy Fellow, and her research is focused on offshore carbon capture and sequestration in the Gulf Coast. She obtained her M.S. degree in the Atmosphere and Energy program within Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Brown University. Before attending Stanford, she worked as a Financial Analyst within the Fixed Income group at Goldman Sachs in New York City for three years. She was a Schneider Fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco where she analyzed the impact of the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire on retail rates within PG&E’s service territory.
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Zhenlin Chen
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Summer 2023
BioZhenlin (Richard) Chen is a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford's Adam Brandt lab, focuses on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas. His work primarily revolves around evaluating ground sensor technologies for methane detection and quantification ability. His methodological approach blends engineering principles, field data collection, and applied statistics. Chen is exploring AI-driven frameworks, particularly large language models, to refine energy data extraction and enhance the OPGEE model through private data fine-tuning and reinforcement learning. His emphasis remains on domain-specific tasks, aiming for efficiency in terms of latency and cost. He pursued his undergraduate studies in environmental science at Cornell University and holds a master's in Atmosphere and Energy Engineering from Stanford.
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Steven Chu
William R. Kenan Jr. Professor, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and of Energy Science and Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSynthesis, functionalization and applications of nanoparticle bioprobes for molecular cellular in vivo imaging in biology and biomedicine. Linear and nonlinear difference frequency mixing ultrasound imaging. Lithium metal-sulfur batteries, new approaches to electrochemical splitting of water. CO2 reduction, lithium extraction from salt water
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William Chueh
Director, Precourt Institute for Energy, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, of Energy Science and Engineering, of Photon Science, and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioThe availability of low-cost but intermittent renewable electricity (e.g., derived from solar and wind) underscores the grand challenge to store and dispatch energy so that it is available when and where it is needed. Redox-active materials promise the efficient transformation between electrical, chemical, and thermal energy, and are at the heart of carbon-neutral energy cycles. Understanding design rules that govern materials chemistry and architecture holds the key towards rationally optimizing technologies such as batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and novel thermodynamic cycles. Electrochemical and chemical reactions involved in these technologies span diverse length and time scales, ranging from Ångströms to meters and from picoseconds to years. As such, establishing a unified, predictive framework has been a major challenge. The central question unifying our research is: “can we understand and engineer redox reactions at the levels of electrons, ions, molecules, particles and devices using a bottom-up approach?” Our approach integrates novel synthesis, fabrication, characterization, modeling and analytics to understand molecular pathways and interfacial structure, and to bridge fundamentals to energy storage and conversion technologies by establishing new design rules.
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Dylan Marshall Crain
Ph.D. Student in Energy Resources Engineering, admitted Autumn 2022
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy current research revolves around optimizing the monitoring design of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) projects in such a way that the posterior (after data assimilation) predictions are as close to reality as can be hoped for.
In CCS projects within the U.S., it is important to have monitoring plan, which can consist of wells with pressure, saturation, salinity, et cetera sensors, seismic lines, or gravimetric above-ground measurements, before any injection has begun into the subsurface. This is due to the permitting requirements that must be satisfied before operations are begun.
Due to this constraint, any monitoring optimization (at least initially) needs to be determined using only a prior (highly uncertain) understanding of the subsurface. This makes the optimization much more challenging. We utilize a prior optimization scheme from a previous student which allows us to optimize a monitoring plan using only prior information to get the minimized, expected uncertainty reduction in the posterior models for a given quantity of interest. This scheme is limited by some Gaussian assumptions. We optimize it using a genetic algorithm.
From this point, with the monitoring plan established, the information gathered from the optimized monitoring scheme (using only monitoring wells at the moment) is used to history match (data assimilate) our understanding of the subsurface. The results can be used to predict the CO2 plume flow and behavior into the future.
This work was initially developed to assist a project in Illinois that is currently seeking Class VI injection well permits in the self-same state in order to begin injecting CO2 produced from two companies paying for the work from the Illinois Geological Survey. -
Yi Cui
Fortinet Founders Professor, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, of Energy Science and Engineering, of Photon Science, Senior Fellow at Woods, at Precourt and Professor, by courtesy, of Chemistry
BioCui studies fundamentals and applications of nanomaterials and develops tools for their understanding. Research Interests: nanotechnology, batteries, electrocatalysis, wearables, 2D materials, environmental technology (water, air, soil), cryogenic electron microscopy.
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David Danielson
Adjunct Professor
BioDavid T. Danielson became a Precourt energy scholar at Stanford in 2016. With Stuart Macmillan and Joel Moxley, Dave co-teaches the yearlong course "Energy Transformation Collaborative." This project-based course provides a launchpad for the creation and development of transformational energy ventures. Interdisciplinary student teams research, analyze and refine detailed plans for high-impact opportunities in the context of the new energy venture development framework offered in this course.
Since January 2017, Dave has been managing director of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a $1 billion fund focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation.
From 2012 to 2016, Dave was assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. There, he directed the U.S. government’s innovation strategy in the areas of sustainable transportation, renewable power, energy efficiency and clean-energy manufacturing, investing about $2 billion annually into American clean-energy innovation. He is considered a global expert in the development of next generation clean-energy technologies and the creation of new R&D and organizational models for high-impact clean energy innovation.
Prior to being appointed by President Obama as assistant secretary, Dave was the first hire at DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency– Energy (ARPA-E), a funding agency that focuses on the development of high-risk, high-reward clean-energy technologies. Prior to his government service, he was a clean-energy venture capitalist and, as a PhD student at MIT, was the founder and president of the MIT Energy Club. -
Steven J. Davis
Professor of Earth System Science, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Professor, by courtesy, of Energy Science and Engineering
BioSteve Davis is a highly-cited researcher and expert in earth system science, emissions and energy scenarios, climate impacts and solutions, and corporate climate strategy. He is a Professor of Earth System Science in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and leads the Sustainable Solutions Lab, a research group dedicated to quantifying how different human activities are affecting climate and air quality, how those environmental changes in turn jeopardize human wellbeing, and the relative priority of solutions.
Steve was a Contributing Author of two Working Group III chapters in the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), serves on the Scientific Steering Committee of the Global Carbon Project, was the Lead Author of the Mitigation chapter in the U.S. Fifth National Climate Assessment, and is a member of the Technical Council of the Science Based Targets Initiative.
Prior to his science career, Steve worked as a lawyer to venture-backed companies in Silicon Valley, and holds degrees from Stanford University, the University of Virginia School of Law and the University of Florida, where he double-majored in Political Science and Philosophy. -
Omar Duran
Physical Science Research Scientist
BioA computational mechanician with a solid foundation in reservoir engineering, continuum mechanics, applied mathematics, and finite element methods.
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Louis Durlofsky
Otto N. Miller Professor in the School of Earth Sciences
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGeneral reservoir simulation, optimization, reduced-order modeling, upscaling, flow in fractured systems, history matching, CO2 sequestration, energy systems optimization
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Sahar El Abbadi
Physical Science Research Scientist, Energy Science & Engineering
BioSahar El Abbadi was a post-doctoral researcher in Energy Resources Engineering from Jan 2022 - Aug 2023. Her research focuses on developing circular economies by transforming waste methane into useful products. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is emitted atmosphere by industrial sources (wastewater treatment plants, landfill, fossil fuel extraction) because it is uneconomical to capture, clean and use. However, methane-consuming bacteria can transform this harmful pollutant into protein-rich cells and biodegradable polymers. Sahar's PhD research evaluated the economic potential of using these bacteria to reduce methane emissions while providing a new source of high-quality protein that can be used as a feed for agriculture and aquaculture. Sahar continues to expand on this work in considering the path to industrialization in both the United States and Bangladesh using methane produced at landfills. Sahar completed her Bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley (2012) in Environmental Engineering Science, and her MS (2015) and PhD (2021) in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Stanford.
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Lama El Halabi
Ph.D. Student in Energy Science and Engineering, admitted Spring 2022
Masters Student in Energy Resources Engineering, admitted Autumn 2020BioI am a PhD candidate in the Department of Energy Sciences and Engineering and a Data Science Scholar, advised by Adam Brandt. My research is driven by the crucial role renewable energy must play in sustainably meeting our energy demands. The major challenge in transitioning to renewable energy lies in the intermittent and inherently uncertain nature of these energy sources. My current research focuses on predicting energy outputs from these stochastically behaving sources, with an emphasis on uncertainty quantification and volatility. Specifically, I employ computer vision models and statistical techniques to develop short-term probabilistic photovoltaic (PV) power forecasts from sky images and time-series PV data. I hold an MS in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford and a BE in Mechanical Engineering and a BS in Physics from the American University of Beirut. Previously, my research involved using machine learning to model water resources.
