The Texas A&M Energy Institute is joining eight universities to participate in a new six-year, $20 million project awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy‘s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Titled “University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research – UCFER,” the goals of the project will be to identify, select, execute, review and disseminate knowledge from research that will improve the efficiency of production and use of fossil energy resources while minimizing the environmental impacts and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Led by Penn State University, the founding members of the coalition team include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Texas A&M University, University of Kentucky, University of Southern California, University of Tulsa, University of Wyoming and Virginia Tech University.
The founding members of the Texas A&M Energy Institute team include:
- Professor Christodoulos A. Floudas
Director of Texas A&M Energy Institute and Erle Nye ´59 Chair Professor for Engineering Excellence in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering (Primary Investigator) - Professor Efstratios Pistikopoulos
Associate Director of the Texas A&M Energy Institute and TEES Distinguished Research Professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering (co-Primary Investigator) - Professor A. Daniel Hill
Department Head, Professor, and Noble Chair in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering - Professor Akhil Datta-Gupta
University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor, and L.F. Peterson ’36 Chair in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering - Professor Carlos A. Dengo
Executive Professor and Director of the Berg-Hughes Center for Petroleum and Sedimentary System in the Department of Geology and Geophysics - Professor M. Nazmul Karim
Department Head, Professor, and Holder of the T. Michael O’Connor Chair II in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering
About the University Coalition for Fossil Energy Research – UCFER
UCFER will engage in both fundamental and applied research for clean and low-carbon energy based on fossil resources. Outreach and technology transfer to industry will be important components of the coalition. With the aim of reducing environmental impacts and minimizing carbon dioxide emission, the coalition will explore both research in coal and in natural gas and oil including carbon dioxide capture, storage and utilization.
UCFER will support the mission of the U.S. Department of Energy through mechanisms that promote collaboration among NETL and the universities that are members of the coalition by the coordination of research and the sharing of data. Its collaborative research will focus on coal, natural gas, and oil and will involve expertise in one or more of the following five core competence areas – geological and environmental systems, materials engineering and manufacturing, energy conversion engineering, systems engineering and analysis, and computational science and engineering.
Research in gas and oil will also include unconventional resources such as shale gas and environmental impacts, natural gas infrastructure — leak detection and smart sensors, deep water technology, methane hydrates and enhanced recovery.
About the Texas A&M Energy Institute
The Texas A&M Energy Institute is a joint institute between Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). The institute engages undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral associates, research staff, and faculty members in the study and development of innovative technologies and policies for energy production and energy conservation in the energy transition. Special attention is paid to elucidating the complexity among the interacting components of energy, economics, law, public policy, and the environment.
The institute is the home of innovative educational programs, including the 10-month Master of Science in Energy and graduate-level Certificate in Energy, that target both students and professionals who want to be educated on the high-impact and interdisciplinary facets of the energy research landscape through quantitative analytical methods and multi-scale systems based approaches.
With approximately 290 faculty affiliates from seven colleges and schools at Texas A&M University, more than 35 Texas A&M University departments, two Texas A&M University branch campuses, and five Texas A&M University System member institutions, along with a unique community of more than 450 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in the Texas A&M Energy Research Society, cutting-edge solutions are being realized through true interdisciplinary collaborations that will address the complexity and challenges of the world’s energy future.