TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy Seed Grants
The TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy funds research in science, technology and policy that will lead to a transformation of the world's energy systems for a sustainable future. The seed grants fund faculty research with the potential for high impact. These proof-of-concept awards enable researchers to move from theory to early experiments and analysis.
TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy Seed Grants
| Funding Year | Research Topic | Description | Principal Investigtors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Low-cost polymer materials for efficient waste heat reclamation | Thermoelectricity, the direct conversion of heat into electrical power, can be used to reclaim otherwise wasted thermal energy from cars, factories... |
Zhenan Bao, Chemical Engineering; Kenneth Goodson, Mechanical Engineering |
| 2014 | From ‘waste’ water to fresh water: Anaerobic treatment for energy-neutral potable water | Wastewater is typically treated with oxygen-consuming (aerobic) bacteria, an energy-intensive process that converts organic-rich wastewater... |
William Mitch and Craig Criddle, Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| 2014 | Economic assessment of polygeneration energy systems | Polygeneration energy systems use multiple feedstocks (such as coal, natural gas and biomass) to generate multiple products (electricity, hydrogen,... |
Stefan Reichelstein, Graduate School of Business; Adam Brandt, Energy Resources Engineering |
| 2013 | Electrochemical Splitting of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide | In theory, excess power created by intermittent renewable power can be used to remove CO2 from the environment and extract carbon monoxide, which can... |
Mark Cappelli, mechanical engineering; Reginald Mitchell, mechanical engineering; Tsuyohito Ito, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan. |
| 2013 | Making Large Wind Farms More Productive, Less Expensive | Power output by large wind farms is typically 25 percent less than what it should be due to rear windmills operating in the turbulent wakes of those... |
Sanjiva K. Lele, aeronautics and astronautics, and mechanical engineering; John Weyant, management science and engineering Funded by the TomKat Center with support from PIE |
| 2013 | Junctionless Solar Cell for Enabling Third-Generation Photovoltaics | This project will seek to increase efficiency and decrease manufacturing costs of solar photovoltaic panels by developing junctionless solar cells... |
Krishna Saraswat, electrical engineering |
| 2012 | Wireless Power Transfer to a Moving Vehicle | In a follow-up to an earlier study, the researchers will test the feasibility of using magnetic resonance technology to transmit electricity from... |
Shanhui Fan, electrical engineering |
| 2012 | Reliability vs. Cost Tradeoffs in California Wind Energy Investments | This project will quantify the added costs of serving California’s electricity demand with an increasing share of intermittent renewable... |
Frank Wolak, economics; Burton Richter, SLAC |
| 2011 | Storing Electricity in the Form of Chemical Bonds: An Alkaline Exchange Membrane Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell | One way to deal with the intermittent nature of solar power is by storing some of it for use when output drops. This research seeks to develop a type... |
Thomas Jaramillo and Curtis Frank, chemical engineering |
| 2011 | Effects of Large-Scale Solar Energy on Land and Water Resources in The Southwest U.S. | Some of the world’s highest agricultural yields come from irrigated systems in deserts, which are also attractive sites for large solar power... |
Chris Field, Noah Diffenbaugh and David Lobell, environmental Earth system science Funded by the TomKat Center with support from PIE |
| 2011 | Consuming Renewable Power: Information and Reliability as a Resource | This study aims to better manage the inherent variability of solar power. Unexpected cloud cover frequently cuts solar supplies. To keep an electric... |
Ram Rajagopal, civil and environmental engineering |
| 2011 | Upconverter-Enhanced Molecular Photovoltaics: Towards Cost-Effective, Broadband Solar Energy Conversion | The conversion efficiency of such devices can be enhanced by adding upconverters, which combine below-bandgap photons to emit above-bandgap photons... |
Jennifer Dionne and Michael McGehee, materials science and engineering |
| 2011 | Market-Based Valuation of Ecosystem Services for Competitive Large-Scale Solar Power Generation | One of the largest benefits of renewable energy generation is reduced degradation of natural ecosystems as compared to fossil-based energy generation... |
Michael Lepech and David Freyberg, civil and environment engineering; John Weyant, management science and engineering; Stefan Reichelstein, Graduate School of Business Funded by the TomKat Center with support from PIE |
| 2010 | Analysis and Control of Smart Electrical Distribution Systems | This research focuses on the development of systems analysis, control, and monitoring technologies for the distribution segment of the electrical... |
Dimitry Gorinevsky and Sanjay Lall, aeronautics-astronautics and electrical engineering |
| 2010 | GridSpice: A Virtual Platform for Modeling, Analysis, and Optimization of the Smart Grid | The project aims to research and begin prototype development of GridSpice, a software simulation system for modeling, design, planning and... |
Stephen Boyd, electrical engineering; Abbas El Gamal, electrical engineering; Amit Narayan, Smart Grid Research and Modeling; Dan O'Neill, electrical engineering; Benjamin Van Roy, management science and engineering and electrical engineering |
| 2010 | Reducing the Regulatory Barriers to a Transmission Network that Facilitates Renewable Energy Deployment in a Wholesale Market Regime | The research proposed here will develop a quantitative model that seeks to fill these gaps-specifically for the case of the transmission upgrades in... |
Stephen Boyd, electrical engineering; Mark Thurber, PESD; Frank Wolak, economics |
| 2010 | Catching Wind by the Tail: Improving Intermittent Power Operations with Sensing, Statistics and Control | The project seeks approaches to increase the penetration of wind energy production by decreasing the planning, safety and operating costs due to wind... |
Ram Rajagopal, civil and environmental engineering |
