PRODUCTION / HARVESTING

01-en-prodEnergy is the juice that runs today’s world. Energy is also one of the main cause of much of turmoil in world’s politics. Clean, economical, and sustainable production of sufficient energy to satisfy the need of 8 billion humans requires continued research and development in production and harvesting of available primary and secondary energy sources: fossil, renewables, nuclear, biofuels, electricity, and hydrogen.

 

Areas of Research Focus

The University of Illinois is home to some of the most cutting edge research in the field of energy production and the new field of energy harvesting. From research on making renewables such as wind and solar more competitive, fossil-based energy production more clean, nuclear power more economical while being safe, to efficient production of secondary energy sources such as electricity and hydrogen, research and development at the University of Illinois is addressing the challenges being faced in production, extraction and harvesting of energy for a sustainable planet. Some specific projects:

  • Small modular nuclear reactor design.
  • Making coal clean by carbon sequestration.
  • Ethanol production.
  • Making solar thermal and solar photovoltaic competitive.
  • Engineering solutions for biomass feedstock production and provision.
  • Demonstration of biomass boiler using chopped Miscanthus for on-farm heating.
  • Greenhouse gas emissions from land use change.
  • Small modular (nuclear) reactors.
  • Sodium-cooled fast reactors.
  • Digital instrumentation and control for nuclear power plants.
  • Reliable unconventional hydrocarbon resource assessment methodologies.
  • Geochemical tracers in oil and gas fingerprinting

Energy Scholars at Work

(click to enlarge images and view as a slide show; more scholars’ studies profiled on each of the Areas of Excellence landing pages)

Researchers

James Allison

James Allison

Electro-thermal system design

Tugce Baser

Tugce Baser

Geothermal

Can Bayram

Can Bayram

Microelectronics and photonics

Pascal Bellon

Pascal Bellon

Alloy structure and durability

Joseph Bentsman

Joseph Bentsman

Controls and dynamics

Carl Bernacchi

Carl Bernacchi

Biofuels and bioenergy

Hans Blaschek

Hans Blaschek

Biofuels

Leonardo P. Chamorro

Leonardo P. Chamorro

Fluid mechanics and thermal sciences

Evan H. DeLucia

Evan H. DeLucia

Bioenergy feedstock production

Ying Diao

Ying Diao

Thermal materials

C. Armando Duarte

C. Armando Duarte

Hydraulic fracturing

A. Bryan Endres

A. Bryan Endres

Biomass and biofuels

Scott Frailey

Scott Frailey

Petroleum engineering and CO2 storage

Jared Freiburg

Jared Freiburg

Petroleum geology

Sallie Greenberg

Sallie Greenberg

Carbon sequestration and climate change

Tony Grift

Tony Grift

Biomass production

Damien Guironnet

Damien Guironnet

Catalysis

Alan Hansen

Alan Hansen

Biomass, biofuels, and diesel engines

Kiruba Haran

Kiruba Haran

Power and energy systems

Yong-Su Jin

Yong-Su Jin

Biofuels and synthetics

Madhu Khanna

Madhu Khanna

Biomass and biofuels

Harrison Kim

Harrison Kim

Energy systems engineering

Jaemin Kim

Jaemin Kim

Materials science

Philip Krein

Philip Krein

Power and energy systems

Waltraud M. Kriven

Waltraud M. Kriven

Mechanical properties and materials

Jessica Krogstad

Jessica Krogstad

Materials structure and durability

Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar

Hydraulic engineering

Andrew Leakey

Andrew Leakey

Biomass and biofuels

Minjoo Lawrence Lee

Minjoo Lawrence Lee

Microelectronics and photonics

Xiuling Li

Xiuling Li

Nanotechnology and photovoltaics

Stephen P. Long

Stephen P. Long

Biomass and biofuels

Roman Makhnenko

Roman Makhnenko

Geothermal

Nenad Miljkovic

Nenad Miljkovic

Fluid mechanics and thermal sciences

Ralph Nuzzo

Ralph Nuzzo

Photovoltaics and catalysis

Kevin O'Brien

Kevin O'Brien

Traditional and alternative energies

Roland Okwen

Roland Okwen

Enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture

Donald Ort

Donald Ort

Photosynthesis

Carlos Pantano-Rubino

Carlos Pantano-Rubino

Fluid dynamics and thermal sciences

Christopher Rao

Christopher Rao

Biofuel production

Kent Rausch

Kent Rausch

Bioprocessing

Joaquin Rodriguez-Lopez

Joaquin Rodriguez-Lopez

Electrochemistry for energy storage materials

R. Mohan Sankaran

R. Mohan Sankaran

Nuclear, plasma, materials

André Schleife

André Schleife

Nanoscale science and technology

Michael Selig

Michael Selig

Wind energy systems

Diwakar Shukla

Diwakar Shukla

Molecular engineering

Timothy Stark

Timothy Stark

Geotechnical engineering

Ashlynn Stillwell

Ashlynn Stillwell

Hydraulic engineering

James Stubbins

James Stubbins

Nuclear power

Rizwan Uddin

Rizwan Uddin

Nuclear power

Al Valocchi

Al Valocchi

Hydraulic engineering

Alexander Vakakis

Alexander Vakakis

Controls and dynamics

Thomas Voigt

Thomas Voigt

Bioenergy crops

Xinlei Wang

Xinlei Wang

Building energy efficiency and diesel engines

Scott Willenbrock

Scott Willenbrock

Elementary particle theory

Donna Caraway Willette

Donna Caraway Willette

Petroleum geochemistry

Sherilyn Williams-Stroud

Sherilyn Williams-Stroud

Petroleum geology

Yuanhui Zhang

Yuanhui Zhang

Indoor air quality

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