Modern high-performance computers enable researchers to study energy problems of unprecedented complexity with predictive accuracy. This provides a clear picture even in situations where experimentation is expensive, time-consuming, or dangerous. In addition, cutting-edge modeling and simulation extends across multiple length and time scales and incorporates large amounts of existing data from experiment or theory. Cloud infrastructures and machine-learning for high-throughput screening allow researchers to quickly identify the most promising solutions for a given problem in energy-related fields and beyond.
Areas of Research Focus
At the University of Illinois, diverse and cutting-edge computational researchers join their forces to develop predictive models for energy solutions of the future. Among them are projects on:
- Improving existing or developing novel technologies and materials for solar-energy harvesting, thermoelectrics, and hydrogen storage.
- Increasing energy efficiency by improving processing capabilities or high-temperature properties of materials for automotive, aerospace, reactor, and other applications.
- Improving thermal-mechanical systems and energy management systems by advanced modeling.
- Energy analysis investigating current and future energy technologies, e.g. low-carbon infrastructure and potential energy-use reductions.
- Photoconversion efficiency of perovskite solar cell materials.
- Sodium-cooled fast reactors.
- Spent nuclear fuel.
- Process simulation.
- Fluid mechanics and mass transfer.
- Hydrocarbon biomarker analysis and modeling.
- Thermal maturation and basin modeling utilizing geochemical markers.
Researchers
Phillip Ansell
Electrical and chemical engineering; materials science
Scott Frailey
Petroleum engineering and CO2 storage
Ravishankar K. Iyer
Reliable and secure electrical systems
Hadi Meidani
Resilient infrastructure and sustainable transportation
Nenad Miljkovic
Fluid mechanics and thermal sciences
Roland Okwen
Enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture
Carlos Pantano-Rubino
Fluid dynamics and thermal sciences
Arne J. Pearlstein
Fluid mechanics and thermal sciences
Yang Zhang
Nuclear engineering
ILLINOIS RESEARCH CENTERS
- Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI)
- Center for Power Optimization of Electro-Thermal Systems (POETS)
- Illinois Center for Smarter Electric Grid (ICSEG)
- International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I²CNER)
- Light Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI-EFRC)
- Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for the Power Grid (TCIPG)
- Novel High Voltage/Temperature Materials and Structures (HV/TMS)
ONGOING GRANTS & GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Coming soon.
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