Research
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Our research focuses on building tools to reduce the environmental impacts of energy systems, with an emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from fossil energy systems. Other research areas include optimization of low emissions technologies, such as carbon dioxide capture, solar thermal, as well as methane leak detection and solar photovoltaic output prediction using machine vision systems. Our research methods include engineering-based life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling, computational optimization, machine learning and computer vision. Our research targets include transportation fuels (conventional oil and oil substitutes) and carbon dioxide capture and storage.
Research Projects
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Renewable Integration & Transitions
Optimization is used to choose technology configurations, designs, and operating conditions to achieve goals such as reduced cost and environmental impacts. Our group has applied optimization to carbon dioxide capture technologies and transportation fuels -
Optimization of Clean Energy Systems
Optimization is used to choose technology configurations, designs, and operating conditions to achieve goals such as reduced cost and environmental impacts. Our group has applied optimization to carbon dioxide capture technologies and transportation fuels -
Methane Leakage from Natural Gas Systems
We study leakage from the natural gas system, with a focus on comprehensive assessment of leakage mechanisms, as well as ongoing work on detecting leakage from natural gas systems. -
NEW Oil & Gas Life Cycle Assessment
We study leakage from the natural gas system, with a focus on comprehensive assessment of leakage mechanisms, as well as ongoing work on detecting leakage from natural gas systems. -
Methane leakage from natural gas systems
We study leakage from the natural gas system, with a focus on comprehensive assessment of leakage mechanisms, as well as ongoing work on detecting leakage from natural gas systems. -
Short-term solar forecasting
We develop a specialized machine vision system to make short-term forecsts of PV panel power output using sky images. -
OPGEE: The Oil Production Greenhouse gas Emissions Estimator
OPGEE is a bottom-up LCA tool that allows the user to estimate GHG emissions from oil and gas production operations under a variety of conditions and production technologies. -
Energy systems optimization
Optimization is used to choose technology configurations, designs, and operating conditions to achieve goals such as reduced cost and environmental impacts. Our group has applied optimization to carbon dioxide capture technologies and transportation fuels -
Life cycle assessment
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to generate comprehensive measures of environmental impacts from producing a fuel, a product or a service. Our group builds LCA models of energy technologies. -
Net energy analysis and energy system transitions
The depletion of conventional energy resources has led to the development of fossil-based substitutes for oil. We examine the nature of resource depletion & the dynamics of these transitions.
