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UC Davis experts: Energy efficiency

More than two dozen energy researchers at UC Davis will contribute to the new university center for energy efficiency, being funded by the California Clean Energy Fund. The campus also plans to recruit another dozen faculty in the energy field during the next several years. The following faculty experts are available to speak on energy efficiency topics.

LIGHTING

TRANSPORTATION

ENERGY PRODUCTION

LIGHTING

Boosting lighting savings

Michael Siminovitch, director of the UC Davis California Lighting Technology Center and a professor of design, can talk about how more efficient lighting systems can lead to energy savings throughout the nation. He has been designing such systems for the past two decades, including the Berkeley Lamp, which saves three-quarters of the wattage used by traditional lamps, and an innovative fluorescent downlighting system. The CLTC conducts both cooperative and independent activities with lighting manufacturers, electric utilities and the design/engineering professional community. These partnerships are assisted and supported through state-of-the-art lighting and daylighting applications and development/testing facilities, coupled with lighting-efficiency training and educational programs. Siminovitch, with his colleague Konstantinos Papamichael, came to UC Davis in 2004 to establish the lighting technology center, a teaching and research program that emphasizes energy-efficient lighting with market-friendly design. Contact: Michael Siminovitch, CLTC, (530) 757-3496, mjsiminovitch@ucdavis.edu.

Designing buildings for lighting efficiency

Architect and daylighting specialist Konstantinos Papamichael, associate director of the UC Davis California Lighting Technology Center and a professor of design, can talk about daylighting strategies and technologies, as well as simulation methods and tools for lighting and daylighting design. During the last 25 years, Papamichael has been working on the development of energy-efficiency strategies and technologies for buildings, focusing on building windows, skylights and integrated controls for shading and electric lighting. He also designs systems that integrate electric lighting into those systems. Papamichael has been working on the design and development of computer-based tools that facilitate energy and environmental impact considerations for building design and operation decision-making. Contact: Konstantinos Papamichael, CLTC, (530) 757-3495, kpapamichael@ucdavis.edu.

TRANSPORTATION

Plug-in hybrid vehicles

Andrew Frank, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering at UC Davis, has pioneered the development of "plug-in" gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. Unlike commercially available hybrid vehicles, a plug-in hybrid can recharge its batteries from a domestic power supply. For short, everyday journeys the vehicles can operate almost entirely on battery power, reducing fuel costs and emissions. Frank and his graduate students have built a number of prizewinning plug-in hybrid vehicles, including large SUVs. Widespread adoption of plug-in hybrids could also have implications for energy distribution, as the vehicles could act as an "energy store" when plugged in and not in use. Adoption of the plug-in concept could allow up to 90 percent of gasoline use to be replaced with electricity, Frank says. Contact: Andrew A. Frank, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, (530) 752-8120, aafrank@ucdavis.edu.

Hydrogen fuel production, fuel-cell buses

Paul Erickson, UC Davis assistant professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, studies the production and use of hydrogen for fuel-cell systems, including fuel-cell vehicles. Fuels such as methanol, gasoline, diesel and coal could be carried on a vehicle and processed to produce hydrogen using an on-board reformation process. He is also working on production of hydrogen from renewable sources such as ethanol, and hybrid vehicles with internal combustion and electric motors. Erickson's laboratory is using a protoype fuel-cell powered bus to conduct experiments. Contact: Paul Erickson, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, (530) 752-5360, paerickson@ucdavis.edu.

Power systems for hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles

Andrew Burke, a research engineer with the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis), has 30 years of experience studying electric- and hybrid-vehicle design and analysis in industry (General Electric), government (Idaho National Engineering Laboratory) and academia (Union College and UC Davis). At UC Davis, Burke directs the Advanced Vehicle Power Systems Laboratory, and conducts research and teaches graduate courses on advanced electric driveline technologies, specializing in batteries, ultracapacitors, fuel cells and hybrid-vehicle design. Contact: Andrew Burke, ITS-Davis, (530) 752-9812, afburke@ucdavis.edu.

ENERGY PRODUCTION

Biomass fuels

Bryan Jenkins, a UC Davis professor of biological and agricultural engineering, studies the use of biomass fuels (such as straw) in energy applications, including fuel cells. Much of his research concentrates on understanding the role of inorganic materials in biomass when it is converted by gasification and combustion to heat and power. He hopes to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of the process. He currently has laboratory studies as well as full-scale experiments at power plants under way, many of them with industry and U.S. national laboratories. Contact: Bryan Jenkins, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, (530) 752-1422, bmjenkins@ucdavis.edu.

Turning garbage into biogas

UC Davis bioenvironmental engineer Ruihong Zhang sees a vast untapped resource in clippings, household table scraps and other biodegradable materials: enough energy to keep the lights burning in thousands of California homes. Zhang is building a prototypical anaerobic digester, part of a $4 million project funded by the California Energy Commission and industry partners. The concept is elegantly simple -- garbage in, good stuff out, including "biogas" to burn for electricity-producing turbines. Zhang's anaerobic digester is designed to process waste materials in their "natural" form, easing material handling and converting the material into biogas at a faster rate. Contact: Ruihong Zhang, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, (530) 754-9530, rhzhang@ucdavis.edu.

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Last updated Aug. 15, 2006