Summary: Energy storage in the electrochemical form is attractive because of its high efficiency and fast response time. New and improved materials for energy storage are urgently required to make more efficient use of our finite supply of fossil fuels, and to enable the effective use of renewable energy sources. In this seminar, I will discuss a few new perspectives for energy storage materials including new Li intercalation compounds, new Na intercalation compounds and new...

Summary: Renewable energy sources have been regarded as the most promising means to solve the energy and environmental issues we face nowadays. How to integrate renewable energy into smart grids presents many challenging problems in control and power electronics. A well-integrated smart grid provides the backbone for the high-level functions of smart grids, such as wide-area control, communication, information, marketing and security. In this talk, an overview of the enabling technologies...

Implementation of the Helgeson-Kirkham-Flowers Model to Study Reservoir Temperature Evolution during CO2 Injection Christopher Binter M.S. Candidate Department of Geological Sciences San Diego State University Advisor Dr. Kathryn Thorbjarnarson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT A comprehensive one-dimensional numerical heat transfer module has been implemented into an existing reactive transport modeling application to study...

Summary: Due to growing populace and standard of living, many terawatts of energy will be needed in the near future. The sun is the largest source of carbon-neutral and renewable energy that we have available and it is the only source that can provide terawatts of energy without depleting rapidly or causing major environmental and climate concerns. To fulfill this role, revolutionary approaches to solar energy conversion are needed that provide energy at very high efficiency at very low...

Summary: The wind turbine drive‐train is an integral part of the turbine that converts rotational kinetic energy from the wind to electrical energy. Ensuring reliable and robust operation of the drive‐train necessitates developing an accurate dynamic response model that includes its aero‐dynamic interaction with the wind, torsional and translational responses of its mechanical components, as well as electro‐mechanical interaction at the generator. This presentation will describe a...

Summary: Transitioning to a sustainable low-carbon energy system poses one of the great challenges of the 21st century. The Energy Innovation Series brings leaders from government, law, finance, industry, and academia to discuss key aspects of this challenge and some of the innovative approaches and solutions being fashioned across a range of sectors. During academic year 2012-13, the series will focus on the changing energy mix in the United States and abroad, the implications of shale gas...