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
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Phillip Ansell
Electrical and chemical engineering; materials science
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Scott Frailey
Petroleum engineering and CO2 storage
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Ravishankar K. Iyer
Reliable and secure electrical systems
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Hadi Meidani
Resilient infrastructure and sustainable transportation
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Nenad Miljkovic
Fluid mechanics and thermal sciences
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Roland Okwen
Enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture
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Carlos Pantano-Rubino
Fluid dynamics and thermal sciences
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Arne J. Pearlstein
Fluid mechanics and thermal sciences
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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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