SWE - Fall 2008 - (Page 42)

For Dr. Mavrikakis, this is the beginning of a new era to design nanomaterials on computers using the laws of quantum mechanics. Fuel on demand Two major challenges to using hydrogen as fuel are storing and transporting it. Jerry Woodall, Ph.D., distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University, has invented a process that eliminates both problems. His research is poised to move from the research bench into small engines such as lawn mowers and portable emergency generators. By adding water to a tank containing pellets of an alloy made of aluminum and gallium, hydrogen Researchers are studying metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a class of materials that could be used to create a practical fuel is produced tank for hydrogen-powered vehicles. MOFs can bind and release when the water hydrogen under the right conditions. MOF-74, shown here, comsplits into prises carbon atoms (white balls) with columns of zinc ions (blue balls) running down the walls. Heavy hydrogen molecules (green hydrogen, alumina, and heat. balls) adsorbed in MOF-74 pack into the tubes more densely than they would in solid form. No toxic fumes are produced, the resultant low-grade gallium can be recycled, and water is the only by-product. While car companies express interest, Dr. Woodall noted that the process is still at the “seed time,” and there are infrastructure issues to deal with. Resources of aluminum are not among the concerns; aluminum is the most abundant metal on the planet. Dr. Woodall pointed to the vast amounts of aluminum not yet mined, plus 400 billion kilograms still in scrap heaps. However, a massive recycling program would be needed to transform the alumina back into aluminum. CREDIT: NIST Breakthrough for solar power Observing the natural photosynthesis organism, which he described as sunlight energy in versus energy out, Dr. Nocera at MIT calculated the photovoltaic output of this process. “Most of the energy of photosynthesis is the water splitting to make hydrogen and oxygen,” he said. “But since we don’t want to make a plant grow, we can stop there and take the hydrogen and oxygen to use as fuel.” The result is a system in which chemicals absorb sunshine and release hydrogen and oxygen, pass through a fuel cell, and recombine into water. Dr. Nocera has refined this process over the last 20 years, but noted the possibilities that make it worth the effort. “If we talk about the energy content of water and sunlight, you would need two to three gallons of water a day to generate enough Roberta Nichols — A Futurist in Sustainable Energy “On a global basis, petroleum fuels are the predominant source of energy for transportation vehicles, and they will remain like this for a long time. But petroleum supplies are finite and pressure on that supply will increase as transportation growth accelerates in the developing countries, particularly in Asia.” So wrote Roberta J. Nichols, Ph.D., in a 2003 article, “The Methanol Story: A Sustainable Fuel for the Future,” in the Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research. Dr. Nichols’ innovative research into sustainable energy preceded the article by many years. As the manager of the Electric Vehicle Strategy and Planning Department at Ford Motor Company in the late ’70s and early ’80s, she was a visionary long before alternative fuels became the buzzword it is today. Receiving her doctorate from USC in 1979, Dr. Nichols first 42 SWE FALL 2008 worked in the aerospace ing member of the adviindustry and then at Ford, sory board for the UC where she began her Riverside College of work on alternative fuels Engineering — Center — particularly methanol. for Environmental She became a moving Research & Technology force to provide leader(CE-CERT). ship in Ford’s Flexible Dr. Nichols became a Fuel Vehicles, meanwhile SWE Fellow in 1998. In receiving three patents 1988, she received the for control systems for Society of Women engine operations, which Engineers’ Achievement used two different fuels. Award for “worldwide She was so convinced leadership in promoting Roberta Nichols that methanol was an the use of alternative answer to alternative fuels that she fuels in transportation vehicles.” converted a Ford Pinto to methanol Among the numerous other honby herself. ors she received were the Gene In addition to a 19-year career at Ecklund Award, U.S. Department of Ford, she helped launch the Energy; and the Clean Air Award for California Energy Commission and Advancing Air Pollution Technology. also served as a consultant to the Dr. Nichols was a Fellow of the State of California’s Synthetic Fuels Society of Automotive Engineers and Program in 1978-79. She retired a member of the National Academy from Ford in 1995. She was a foundof Engineering.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Fall 2008

SWE - Fall 2008 Heritage Club Contents Farewell Message from FY08 President Michelle Tortolani Congratulations SWE Magazine A Conversation with FY09 President Virginia Connolly, P.E. Introducing the FY09 Board of Directors View from the Executive Suite Editor's Page Public Policy Update SWE Retention Study, Part 6 Membership Information & Calendar A&B SWE Member Kristina Johnson First Woman to Receive John Fritz Medal University Labs Fuel a New Era in Energy Women Engineering Leaders in Academe 2008 Opening the Gateways to Engineering Your Collegiate Section History is Waiting to Be Discovered Honoring the Legacy of Ada Pressman, P.E. Report from WEPAN Engineering World Proposed Bylaws Amendments Point of View Correction Career Toolbox Corporate Partnership Council Book Review SWE Smiles In Memory Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Fall 2008

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