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Message from the Director
Dear Friends,
This fall we have been fortunate to welcome two new junior faculty members, both jointly appointed in the Andlinger Center and their home departments. José Avalos, in chemical and biological engineering, focuses on the production of biofuels and bio-derived chemicals. Egemen Kolemen, in mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, is a specialist in the field of control of fusion plasmas. They have both hit the ground running, and we look forward to working with them. As you’ll read below, we also appointed a visiting professor and a postdoctoral researcher.
The Princeton E-ffiliates Partnership continues to foster connections between industry and academia. Earlier this month, experts joined in a day-long exploration of the most pressing global energy needs and environmental concerns. Dr. Stewart Prager, director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, delivered a captivating opening address on fusion energy: where we’ve been (a burning plasma for fusion was achieved two decades ago), where we are now (experiments worldwide to test different designs), and what it will take (overcoming engineering challenges and the long-missing proper investment level) to get us to a world where electricity is routinely generated by this clean, safe energy source.
Finally, the center’s 2013-2014 annual report is available on our website and in print. I hope you’ll take a moment to read about the exciting research and activities of our faculty, students, and partners over the past year. This year promises to be even busier than the last, as we prepare to move into our new home next summer.
─ Emily A. Carter
Founding Director |
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On November 14, the Princeton E-ffiliates Partnership (E-ffiliates) hosted its third annual meeting on the Princeton campus. The day-long event drew approximately 200 attendees from industry, academia, and government. Panel discussions and presentations addressed the challenges we face in creating alternative energy sources, the future of energy investment, and the key areas of energy technology. A poster session featuring 50 students and postdoctoral researchers allowed for extensive interaction among industrial and academic attendees.
One goal of the E-ffiliates program is to bring together member companies and university researchers to promote technology transfer. For that reason, E-ffiliates has granted seed funding to two collaborative research projects set to begin in 2015. Marcus Hultmark is the PI on a project with Lockheed Martin, in which a unique hydrokinetic turbine test facility will be developed. Dan Steingart and Bruce Koel will work with ICL-Industrial Products America and PSEG to study closed cell zinc bromine cells for low-cost, large-scale electrochemical energy storage. The projects will be funded up to $150,000 each for one year of research.
Southern Company, a leading energy company serving the Southeastern U.S., is the newest member of the Princeton E-ffiliates Partnership. They join members DuPont, Lockheed Martin, PSEG, Arch(e)wild, and Power Survey Company. |
This fall we welcomed two new junior faculty members, a visiting senior scholar, and a postdoctoral research associate. Egemen Kolemen is jointly appointed with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. He is a specialist in the field of control of fusion plasmas and worked most recently as a research scientist stationed at the DIII-D Tokamak at General Atomics in San Diego.
José Avalos is jointly appointed with the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. His research focuses on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering for the production of biofuels and bio-derived chemicals. José joins us from MIT, where he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He will teach CBE 418/ENE 418: Fundamentals of Biofuels in the spring semester.
Fabian Wagner is jointly appointed with the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs as the Gerhard R. Andlinger Visiting Professor in Energy and the Environment. Fabian’s expertise lies in large-scale energy systems modelling and systems analysis, among other areas. See below for more information about Professor Wagner.
Finally, Sander van der Linden was hired as a postdoctoral research associate in the Woodrow Wilson School and the Andlinger Center. He will teach a new graduate course, ENE 561/WWS 586C: The Psychology of Environmental Decision-Making in the spring semester. The course will explore the ways in which people understand and process environmental risks and how such perceptions influence behavior and decision-making.
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T  wo Andlinger Center faculty members have designed research projects that utilize the Princeton campus as a living laboratory. These projects are part of the Campus as a Lab program, which supports research into sustainability on campus. Using sensors and infrared cameras, Forrest Meggers and his students will model the air flow in large indoor spaces and monitor the energy efficiency of Princeton's buildings. Dan Steingart will work with students to monitor the temperature and humidity at numerous locations on campus to give facilities managers better information about how well existing climate-control systems are working. |
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