Development of technologies for harnessing energy from renewable resources and for reducing the environmental impact of world-wide resource consumption is now receiving major national and international attention. In the Chemical & Biological Engineering Department at Drexel University, there are several faculty leading innovative research programs related to Energy and the Environment. Examples of research projects include: production of biodiesel from natural and waste oils containing high free-fatty-acid contents, developing new materials for higher efficiency solar cells, deriving polymers from renewable fatty acid monomer, and modifying the composition and structure of fuel cell catalyst layers for better performance.
Faculty with Research in Energy and the Environment
Nicolas Alvarez
Jason Baxter
- Solar cells
- Ultrafast Spectroscopy
Richard Cairncross
- Biodegradable polymers
- Renewable Fuels and Energy
- Biodiesel Production
Aaron Fafarman
- Colloidal nanocrystals
- Solution-processed solar cells
- Electrical and spectroscopic characterization of nanomaterials
Vibha Kalra
- Nano-structured electrodes for energy storage and conversion
(fuel cells, batteries/supercapacitors and solar cells)
- Nanofibers
Kenneth Lau
- Polymer electronic materials
- Solar cells
- Supercapacitors
- Batteries
Giuseppe Palmese
- Polymers and Composites from Renewable Sources
Joshua Snyder
Maureen Tang
- Batteries
- Fuel cells
- Nonaqueous electrochemistry