Soaring to Sustainability: Join the Sustainable Fuels Research Network
About
Georgia Southern University scientists and engineers are working to solve the complex and pressing problems of transitioning to sustainable fuel sources. Our Sustainable Fuels Research Network assembles the intellectual and technical talents of our faculty researchers and university resources to better engage with corporate partners interested in finding implementable solutions in sustainable fuel technology. Through these partnerships in innovation, we seek to find a better way forward to develop more efficient and sustainable fuel sources.
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Our Team
Our team spans two academic colleges – the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing and the College of Science and Mathematics – and boasts an array of theoretical and applied expertise relative to current investigations into sustainable fuels to include: biofuel sourcing and analytic testing, characterization and optimization of flexible fuel sources, fuel performance and emissions, synthetic gas production, bio additive manufacturing, transportation and shipping, polymeric materials and coatings, organic chemistry, physics and more. These established scholars are well-published in their area of expertise including specific publications related to a variety of areas in the sustainable fuels arena. Examples of these areas include functional coatings for improved storage and transportation, pyrolysis of vegetable oils and animal fats to produce new sustainable fuels, catalytic pyrolysis of pine sawdust and recyclable waste plastics, municipal solid waste gasification, removal of syngas impurities, advanced combustion strategies for alternative fuel sources, and experimental assessment for fuel performance and emissions.
Current members of the Research Network include the teams below.
Engineering Team:
- Dr. Prakash Bhoi, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering *
- Dr. Kamran Kardel, Associate Professor of Manufacturing Engineering
- Dr. Heyri Sezer, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
- Dr. Valentin Soloiu, Professor and Director, Aerospace Combustion Laboratory
- Dr. Brian Vlcek, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Department Chair
Scientific Team:
- Dr. John C. DiCesare, Professor of Chemistry
- Dr. Max Durach, Associate Professor of Theoretical Physics
- Dr. W. Marshall Ming, Professor of Materials Science
- Dr. Brandon Quillian, Professor of Chemistry
- Dr. Rafael Lopes Quirino, Professor of Organic Chemistry *
* denotes team lead
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Our Facilities
Georgia Southern’s Sustainable Fuels Research Network boasts a network of state-of-the-art laboratories strategically positioned throughout the region. These dedicated facilities serve as hubs for advancing our research initiatives and fostering collaboration among researchers, industry partners, and stakeholders.
These include:
- TALON Cluster High Performance Computing Center: Computational Research Technical Support is a specialized area of IT Services to build and support a comprehensive program to advance computational research at Georgia Southern.
- COSM Core Research Laboratory: The COSM Core Research Laboratory (CCRL) stands as an invaluable resource accessible to all faculty, staff, and students engaged in research endeavors at Georgia Southern.
- Sustainable Aviation Fuels Research Laboratory (SAFRL): The Sustainable Aviation Fuels Research Laboratory (SAFRL) is equipped with state-of-the-art technology tailored for conducting groundbreaking studies focused on greenhouse gas reduction and climate change mitigation. Research endeavors within this esteemed lab have garnered support from prestigious entities such as the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DoE), National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
- Clean Energy and Fuels Laboratory (CEFL): The Clean Energy and Fuels Laboratory (CEFL), located within the Engineering Research Building in Statesboro, supports our campus’ scientific community with ample laboratory space, cutting-edge instruments and top-notch facilities to facilitate energy and fuel development and testing activities.
- Chemistry Department: The Chemistry Department at Georgia Southern is home to a comprehensive array of instruments essential for catalyst synthesis and characterization.
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Contact
Director of Industrial Relations:
Reinhold Gerbsch, DSC, PMP
Phone: (912) 478-5474
Email: rgerbsch@georgiasouthern.edu
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Last updated: 5/20/2024