Seed Grant Program Publications

A list of the publications resulting from the Energy Institute's seed grant programs, by program and project.

2025 Strategic Energy Seed Grants

Powering the Future: A Data-Driven Framework for Sustainable and Resilient Data Center Expansion in Texas

Principal Investigators: Ning Lin Co-PIs: Vaibhav Bahadur, Lars Koesterke

Vishnu Sree Shanthanu Katakam, Mariam Arzumanyan, Ning Lin, Vaibhav Bahadur, “System-scale design and analysis of desalination systems for meeting water needs of data centers,” Water Research, Vol. 308, Part B, 2027, Article 126748. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2026.126748.

Hybrid Dewatering/Desalination for Reducing Energy Consumption and Cost of Lithium Extraction from Hypersaline Brines

Principal Investigators: Vaibhav Bahadur Co-PI: Benny Freeman

See also “System-scale design and analysis of desalination systems for meeting water needs of data centers”, listed under “Powering the Future: A Data-Driven Framework for Sustainable and Resilient Data Center Expansion in Texas.”

The Electrification Race: Probing the Power Grid/Data Center/Manufacturing Nexus

Principal Investigators: Michael Baldea, Ilias Mitrai, Erhan Kutanoglu

Jiyong Lee, Erhan Kutanoglu, Michael Baldea, Ilias Mitrai, “Effect of data center and electrified manufacturing demand on power grid expansion,” Procedia CIRP, Vol. 146, 2026, pp. 708–713, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2026.03.260.

Jiyong Lee, Erhan Kutanoglu, Michael Baldea, Ilias Mitrai, “Industrial electrification in the era of data centers: A Bayesian Optimization approach for grid-aware large load allocation,” 2027 Foundations of Computer Aided Process Operations – Chemical Process Control Conference, Accepted (reported October 7, 2026). Manuscript: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.23452.

Securing Power Reliability and Availability for Critical Loads with Flexible Generation

Principal Investigators: Surya Santoso, Brian Johnson

Hyeonseong Mun, Damjan Zechevikj, Surya Santoso, “Increasing Transmission Capacity by Optimizing Line Configuration,” 2025 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), 2025, pp. 1–5, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/PESGM52009.2025.11225420

Hyeonseong Mun, Damjan Zechevikj, Surya Santoso, Lei Jiang, “Optimal Operation of Gas Turbine Generator and Energy Storage for Islanded Microgrid AI Data Centers Under Workload Dynamics,” Inventions, Vol. 11/Issue 4, 2026, Article 81, pp. 1–21, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions11040081

Driving the Future of Power Value Chain Decarbonization

Principal Investigators: Xiuling Li, Alex Q. Huang

Xihang Wu, Yuyao Wang, Gavin Latham, Aadil Waseem, Xiuling Li, “hν-MacEtch of Al-rich AlGaN: Enabling plasma-free processing in the ultra-wide-bandgap regime,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, Vol. 44/Issue 5, 2026, Article 053204, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0005575

Zhongjie Ren, Sangbin Park, Chih-Yang Huang, Moriah Weiss, Gavin M. Latham, Aadil Waseem, Henry Roberts, Xihang Wu, Allen T. Wang, Hao-Chung Kuo, Ray-Hua Horng, Xiuling Li, “High-Temperature Photoluminescence Study of MOCVD-Grown β-Ga₂O₃: Effects of Doping and Crystallinity,” ACS Applied Electronic Materials, Vol. 7/Issue 22, 2025, pp. 10364–10374, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.5c01835.

Yueh Han Chuang, Fu Gow Tarntair, Tzu Wei Wang, Anoop Kumar Singh, Po Liang Liu, Dong Sing Wuu, Hao Chung Kuo, Xiuling Li, Ray Hua Horng, “Oxygen effect on the performance of β-Ga₂O₃ enhancement mode MOSFETs heteroepitaxially grown on a sapphire,” Applied Surface Science Advances, Vol. 26, 2025, Article 100711, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100711.

Designing Low Emission Hydrogen Supply Chains

Principal Investigators: Erin Tullos, David Allen

Dan Cherney, John Valenza, David Allen, Timothy Swager, “Emissions Quantification Technologies to Enable the Hydrogen Economy,” ACS ES&T Air, Vol. 3/Issue 8, 2026, pp. 1955–1956 (editorial), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestair.6c00304.

2024 Strategic Energy Seed Grants

Scalable tissue-inspired lithium extraction electrochemical membranes

Principal Investigators: Manish Kumar, Venkat Ganesan, Harekrushna Behera

Harekrushna Behera, Tyler J. Duncan, Laxmicharan Samineni, Hyeonji Oh, Chenhao Yao, Raman Dhiman, Siqi Wang, Luke Hatch, Venkat Ganesan, Manish Kumar, “Highly Selective Artificial Lithium Channels,” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026, published online October 24, 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c13878.

Discovery of modified phosphate solid electrolytes for all-solid-state sodium batteries

Principal Investigators: David Mitlin, Donald Siegel

Callum J. Campbell, Scott Monismith, Vikalp Raj, Yixian Wang, Qianqian Yan, Cole D. Fincher, Rohit Raj, Yet-Ming Chiang, John Watt, Josefine D. McBrayer, David Mitlin, “Reactive Carbide-Based Synthesis and Microstructure of NASICON Sodium Metal All Solid-State Electrolyte,” Advanced Materials, 2025, Article e12961, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202512961

Callum J. Campbell and David Mitlin. “Carbide Aided Manufacturing of Oxide Materials.” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/906,866, filed October 28, 2025.

De-risking carbon capture with amine solvents using high resolution mass spectrometer methods

Principal Investigators: Fred Closmann, Pawel Misztal, Ian Riddington

Fred Closmann, Cameron S. Carter, Gary T. Rochelle, Fahad Alshehri, “Amino Acids: Critical Oxidation Products in CO₂ Capture by Aqueous Piperazine,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol. 64/Issue 40, 2025, pp. 19661–19675, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c03927

Mitigating voltage sag disturbances for electrified industrial process loads

Principal Investigators: Surya Santoso, Brian Johnson

Hyeonseong Mun, Damjan Zechevikj, Surya Santoso, Lei Jiang, “Improving Power Quality of Industrial Plants Using Dynamic Voltage Restorers,” 2025 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), 2025, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/PESGM52009.2025.11225371.

Evaluation of a novel integrated ceramic membrane/hollow fiber membrane contactor process for produced water reuse

Principal Investigators: Lynn Katz, Frank Seibert

Abdalrahman Alsulaili, Sarah Alshawish, Carolyn M. Cooper, Lynn E. Katz, A. Frank Seibert, “Advancing Produced Water Treatment: Hollow-Fiber Membrane Efficiency in Oil-Water Separation,” Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on New Technologies (NewTech’24), ICEPR 2024 – 9th International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation, 2024, Paper ICEPR 126, 6 pp., DOI: https://doi.org/10.11159/icepr24.126

Technical and techno-economic analysis of produced water treatment for green and blue hydrogen production in Texas

Principal Investigators: Vaibhav Bahadur, Michael Lewis, Michael Webber

Vishnu Sree Shanthanu Katakam, Vaibhav Bahadur, “Heat-mass transfer analogy-based design method for osmotically assisted reverse osmosis membrane mass exchangers,” Desalination, 2025, Article 119567, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2025.119567

Innovating green hydrogen production: synthesizing high entropy alloys via bubble printing for enhanced electrocatalytic performance

Principal Investigators: Yuebing Zheng, Simon M. Humphrey

Ming-Feng Hsieh, Kenta Kawashima, C. Buddie Mullins, Yuebing Zheng, “Patterned High-Entropy Alloy Electrocatalyst for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution via Laser-Directed Bubble Printing,” ACS Catalysis, Vol. 16/Issue 7, 2026, pp. 6625–6632, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.5c09076.

2023 Strategic Energy Seed Grants

Breaking the Hydrocarbon Cascade in Electric Process Heating: Strategies for Upgrading Fuel Gas Streams

Principal Investigators: Michael Baldea, Thomas C. Underwood, Buddie Mullins

Charan R. Nallapareddy, Thomas C. Underwood, “What is ‘efficiency’ in plasma chemical processes?,” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 12/Issue 24, 2024, pp. 9144–9155, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c01595

Long-term Surveillance of Plugged and Abandoned Wells for Immediate Detection of CO2 Leakage in Geologic Carbon Storage Sites

Principal Investigators: Sahar Bakhshian, Susan Hovorka, Michael H. Young

Sahar Bakhshian, Hassan Dashtian, Arya Chavoshi, Mahdi Haddad, Susan D. Hovorka, Michael H. Young, Katherine D. Romanak, Mohsen Ahmadian, “Near-Surface Monitoring of Plugged and Abandoned Wells for Real-Time Leakage Detection in Geologic Carbon Storage,” International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 147, 2025, Article 104483, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2025.104483.

Arya Chavoshi, Hassan Dashtian, Sahar Bakhshian, Michael H. Young, Dev Niyogi, “PINN-SM: A Physics-Informed Neural Networks Model for Vadose Zone Soil Moisture Profile Prediction,” Journal of Geophysical Research: Machine Learning and Computation, Vol. 2/Issue 4, 2025, Article e2024JH000547, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JH000547.

Enabling Zero Carbon Emission by Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Technology

Principal Investigators: Guihua Yu, Jamie Warner

Yuyang Wang, Peng Zhu, Ruoyu Wang, Kevin C. Matthews, Minghao Xie, Maoyu Wang, Chang Qiu, Yijin Liu, Hua Zhou, Jamie H. Warner, Yuanyue Liu, Haotian Wang, Guihua Yu, “Fluorine-Tuned Carbon-Based Nickel Single-Atom Catalysts for Scalable and Highly Efficient CO₂ Electrocatalytic Reduction,” ACS Nano, Vol. 18/Issue 21, 2024, pp. 26751–26761, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c06923

The Effects of Surfactants, Salt Concentration and Suspended Solids on Selective Oil Permeation

Principal Investigators: Lynn Katz, Frank Seibert

Carolyn M. Cooper, You Wu, Sara Alshawish, Abdalrahman Alsulaili, Kerry A. Kinney, Lynn E. Katz, A. Frank Seibert, “Oil Recovery from Produced Water via Selective Oil Permeation,” AIChE Annual Meeting, Conference Proceedings, Vol. 2022-November, 2022, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, link: https://pure.kfas.org.kw/en/publications/oil-recovery-from-produced-water-via-selective-oil-permeation/

Manufacturing of High-Strength Nanolattice Coating for Cryogenic Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Storage

Principal Investigators: ChihHao Chang, Li Shi

I-te Chen, Vijay Anirudh Premnath, Chih-Hao Chang, “Multilayer dielectric reflector using low-index nanolattices,” Optics Letters, Vol. 49/Issue 4, 2024, pp. 1093–1096, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.516147

Vijay Anirudh Premnath, Chih-Hao Chang, “Precise control of the optical refractive index in nanolattices,” Optics Letters, Vol. 48/Issue 24, 2023, pp. 6356–6359, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.507274

Analysis of Permian Basin Clean Ammonia Production, Distribution, and Market Demand

Principal Investigators: Michael Lewis, Ning Lin, Vaibhav Bahadur

Haoying Wang, Ning Lin, Mariam Arzumanyan, “The Market for Low-Carbon-Intensity Ammonia,” Gases, Vol. 4/Issue 3, 2024, pp. 224–235, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/gases4030013

Ning Lin, Haoying Wang, “The dual role of low-carbon ammonia in climate-smart agriculture and energy transitions,” Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 470, 2024, Article 143103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143103

Karey Maynor, Grace Childers, Tejaswi Soori, Ning Lin, Michael Lewis, Vaibhav Bahadur, “System-Level and Techno-Economic Analysis of Ammonia Production From Clean Hydrogen in the Permian Basin in Texas,” Proceedings of the ASME 2025 19th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, 2025, Paper ES2025-155224, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1115/ES2025-155224.

Karey Maynor, Mariam Arzumanyan, Ning Lin, Vaibhav Bahadur, “Levelized cost pass-through of green hydrogen in the bioethanol fuel value chain in U.S. Midwest,” Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Vol. 87, 2026, Article 104911, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2026.104911.

2022-23 Energy Seed Grants

Impacts of Geochemistry on Carbon Dioxide Adsorption in Organic-Rich Mudrocks

Principal Investigators: Zoya Heidari, Nicholas Espinoza

Ibrahim Gomaa, Zoya Heidari, D. Nicolas Espinoza, “Molecular Simulation Study of the Competitive Adsorption of Methane and Carbon Dioxide on Organic-Rich Mudrocks,” SPE/AAPG/SEG Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) 2023 Proceedings, 2023, Paper URTeC-3720298, Publication: https://onepetro.org/URTECONF/proceedings/23URTC/1-23URTC/D011S019R001/520518

Ibrahim Gomaa, Zoya Heidari, D. Nicolas Espinoza, “Molecular-Scale Quantitative Evaluation of the Competitive Sorption of Methane and Carbon Dioxide on the Different Constituents of Organic-Rich Mudrocks,” SPWLA 64th Annual Logging Symposium Proceedings, 2023, Paper SPWLA-2023-0057, DOI: https://doi.org/10.30632/SPWLA-2023-0057

Uncertainty Quantification for Circular Economies and Supply Chains

Principal Investigators: Michael Baldea, Erhan Kutanoglu

Raymond Park, Erhan Kutanoglu, Michael Baldea, “Dynamics, uncertainty and control in circular supply chains,” Computers & Chemical Engineering, Vol. 187, 2024, Article 108631, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2023.108631

Developing a Network of Ecological Sensors for Analysis of Long-Term Acoustic and Environmental Data

Principal Investigators: Timothy Keitt, Andrea Contina

Andrea Contina, Eric Abelson, Brendan Allison, Brian Stokes, Kenedy F. Sanchez, Henry M. Hernandez, Anna M. Kepple, Quynhmai Tran, Isabella Kazen, Katherine A. Brown, Je’aime H. Powell, Timothy H. Keitt, “BioSense: An automated sensing node for organismal and environmental biology,” HardwareX, Vol. 20, 2024, Article e00584, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00584

Timothy H. Keitt, Eric S. Abelson, “Ecology in the age of automation,” Science, Vol. 373/Issue 6557, 2021, pp. 858–859, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi4692

Toward Equitable Transportation Electrification in Austin, TX

Principal Investigators: Junfeng Jiao, Kijin Seong, Abigail Johnson

Junfeng Jiao, Seung Jun Choi, Chris Nguyen, “Toward an equitable transportation electrification plan: Measuring public electric vehicle charging station access disparities in Austin, Texas,” PLOS ONE, Vol. 19/Issue 9, 2024, e0309302, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309302

Seung Jun Choi, Junfeng Jiao, “Uncovering electric vehicle ownership disparities using K-means clustering analysis: A case study of Austin, Texas,” Journal of Computational Social Science, Vol. 7/Issue 3, 2024, pp. 2403–2456, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-024-00310-6

Seung Jun Choi, Junfeng Jiao, “Measurement of Regional Electric Vehicle Adoption Using Multiagent Deep Reinforcement Learning,” Applied Sciences, Vol. 14/Issue 5, 2024, Article 1826, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app14051826

Fueling a Sustainable Energy Transition (FSET)

Assuring Long-term Storage of Captured CO2: Technical-Legal-Policy-Business Models

Principal Investigators: Susan Hovorka, Lee Ann Kahlor

Lee Ann Kahlor, Janet Yang, Xiaoshan Li, Wan Wang, Hilary Clement Olson, Lucy Atkinson, “Environmental Risk (and Benefit) Information Seeking Intentions: The Case of Carbon Capture and Storage in Southeast Texas,” Environmental Communication, Vol. 14/Issue 4, 2020, pp. 555–572, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2019.1699136

Sahar Bakhshian, “Dynamics of Dissolution Trapping in Geological Carbon Storage,” International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 112, 2021, Article 103520, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2021.103520

Won-Ki Moon, Lee Ann Kahlor, Hilary Clement Olson, “Understanding Public Support for Carbon Capture and Storage Policy: The Roles of Social Capital, Stakeholder Perceptions, and Perceived Risk/Benefit of Technology,” Energy Policy, Vol. 139, 2020, Article 111312, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111312

Prerna Shah, Wan Wang, Z. Janet Yang, LeeAnn Kahlor, Joshua T. L. Anderson, “Framing Climate Change Mitigation Technology: The Impact of Risk versus Benefit Messaging on Support for Carbon Capture and Storage,” International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 119/Issue 6, 2022, Article 103737, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2022.103737

Prerna Shah, Janet Z. Yang, LeeAnn Kahlor, “Psychological Distance, Risk Perception, and Affect: Texas Residents’ Support for Carbon Capture and Storage,” Journal of Risk Research, Vol. 26/Issue 2, 2023, pp. 184–198, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2022.2116084

Defending the Electricity Infrastructure Against Extreme Weather Events, Now and in the Future

Principal Investigators: Erhan Kutanoglu, Surya Santoso

Kyoung Yoon Kim, Wen-Ying Wu, Erhan Kutanoglu, John J. Hasenbein, Zong-Liang Yang, “Hurricane Scenario Generation for Uncertainty Modeling of Coastal and Inland Flooding,” Frontiers in Climate, Vol. 3, 2021, Article 610680, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2021.610680

Laiz Souto, Joshua Yip, Wen-Yong Wu, Brent Austgen, Erhan Kutanoglu, John Hasenbein, Zong-Liang Yang, Carey W. King, Surya Santoso, “Power system resilience to floods: Modeling, impact assessment, and mid-term mitigation strategies,” International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, Vol. 135, 2022, Article 107545, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2021.107545

Decarbonizing the City – Financing and Policy Solutions for Transportation

Principal Investigators: Andrew Waxman, Gian-Claudia Sciara

Gian Claudia Sciara, Andrew Waxman, Ross Buchanan, “State legislator views on funding 21st century transportation: Important problems, missed connections,” Transport Policy, Vol. 150, 2024, pp. 206–218, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.02.021

Design of Next-Generation Battery Packs for a Sustainable Future

Principal Investigators: Arumugam Manthiram, Venkat Subramanian

Shyam S. Sharma, Arumugam Manthiram, “Towards more environmentally and socially responsible batteries,” Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 13, 2020, pp. 4087–4097, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EE02511A

Krishna Shah, Akshay Subramaniam, Lubhani Mishra, Taejin Jang, Martin Z. Bazant, Richard D. Braatz, Venkat R. Subramanian, “Editors’ Choice—Perspective—Challenges in Moving to Multiscale Battery Models: Where Electrochemistry Meets and Demands More from Math,” Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 167/Issue 13, 2020, Article 133501, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/abb37b

Brian T. Heligman, Arumugam Manthiram, “Elemental Foil Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries,” ACS Energy Letters, Vol. 6/Issue 8, 2021, pp. 2666–2672, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.1c01145

Brian T. Heligman, Kevin P. Scanlan, Arumugam Manthiram, “An In-Depth Analysis of the Transformation of Tin Foil Anodes during Electrochemical Cycling in Lithium-Ion Batteries,” Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 168/Issue 12, 2021, pp. 120544, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ac42f0

Shyam S. Sharma, Patrick J. Crowley, Arumugam Manthiram, “Aluminum–Silicon Alloy Foils as Low-Cost, Environmentally Friendly Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries,” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 9/Issue 43, 2021, pp. 14515–14524, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c05168

Brian T. Heligman, Kevin P. Scanlan, Arumugam Manthiram, “Nanostructured Composite Foils Produced Via Accumulative Roll Bonding as Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 14/Issue 9, 2022, pp. 11408–11414, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c23529

Jiwon Yu, Tsung-Hsuan Yang, Wei Hao, Myungsuk Lee, Gyeong S. Hwang, “First-Principles Prediction on Antimony-Doping Effects on the Cyclic Stability of Tin Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries,” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Vol. 24/Issue 29, 2022, pp. 17542–17546, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CP01859D

Taejin Jang, Lubhani Mishra, Scott A. Roberts, Brady Planden, Akshay Subramaniam, Maitri Uppaluri, David Linder, Mogadalai P. Gururajan, Ji-Guang Zhang, Venkat R. Subramanian, “BattPhase—A Convergent, Non-Oscillatory, Efficient Algorithm and Code for Predicting Shape Changes in Lithium Metal Batteries Using Phase-Field Models: Part I. Secondary Current Distribution,” Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 169/Issue 8, 2022, Article 080516, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ac86a7

Driving Natural Gas Systems to Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Principal Investigators: David Allen, Paul Navratil

Felipe J. Cardoso-Saldaña, Kelly Pierce, Qining Chen, Yosuke Kimura, David T. Allen, “A Searchable Database for Prediction of Emission Compositions from Upstream Oil and Gas Sources,” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 55/Issue 6, 2021, pp. 3210–3218, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c05925

David T. Allen, Felipe J. Cardoso-Saldaña, Yosuke Kimura, Qining Chen, Zhanhong Xiang, Daniel Zimmerle, Clay Bell, Chris Lute, Jerry Duggan, Matthew Harrison, “A Methane Emission Estimation Tool (MEET) for predictions of emissions from upstream oil and gas well sites with fine scale temporal and spatial resolution: Model structure and applications,” Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 829, 2022, Article 154277, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154277

Qining Chen, Mrinali Modi, Gary McGaughey, Yosuke Kimura, Elena McDonald-Buller, David T. Allen, “Simulated Methane Emission Detection Capabilities of Continuous Monitoring Networks in an Oil and Gas Production Region,” Atmosphere, Vol. 13/Issue 4, 2022, Article 510, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13040510

Daniel Zimmerle, Gerald Duggan, Timothy Vaughn, Clay Bell, Christopher Lute, Kristine Bennett, Yosuke Kimura, Felipe J. Cardoso-Saldaña, David T. Allen, “Modeling Air Emissions from Complex Facilities at Detailed Temporal and Spatial Resolution: The Methane Emission Estimation Tool (MEET),” Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 824, 2022, Article 153653, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153653

Linking Plant Strategies to Subsurface Hydrology to Predict Ecosystem CO2 Storage Across Texas

Principal Investigators: Caroline Farrior, Daniella Rempe

Erica L. McCormick, David N. Dralle, W. Jesse Hahm, Alison K. Tune, Logan M. Schmidt, K. Dana Chadwick, Daniella M. Rempe, “Widespread woody plant use of water stored in bedrock,” Nature, Vol. 597/Issue 7875, 2021, pp. 225–229, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03761-3

Enabling Solar-Powered Water Purification Technology

Principal Investigators: Guihua Yu, Lynn Katz

Youhong Guo, Xiao Zhao, Fei Zhao, Zihao Jiao, Xingyi Zhou, Guihua Yu, “Tailoring surface wetting states for ultrafast solar-driven water evaporation,” Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 13/Issue 7, 2020, pp. 2087–2095, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D0EE00399A

Fei Zhao, Youhong Guo, Xingyi Zhou, Wen Shi, Guihua Yu, “Materials for solar-powered water evaporation,” Nature Reviews Materials, Vol. 5/Issue 5, 2020, pp. 388–401, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-020-0182-4

Youhong Guo, Jiwoong Bae, Zhiwei Fang, Panpan Li, Fei Zhao, Guihua Yu, “Hydrogels and Hydrogel-Derived Materials for Energy and Water Sustainability,” Chemical Reviews, Vol. 120/Issue 15, 2020, pp. 7642–7707, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00345

Xingyi Zhou, Youhong Guo, Fei Zhao, Wen Shi, Guihua Yu, “Topology-Controlled Hydration of Polymer Network in Hydrogels for Solar-Driven Wastewater Treatment,” Advanced Materials, Vol. 32/Issue 52, 2020, Article 2007012, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202007012

Youhong Guo, Christopher M. Dundas, Xingyi Zhou, Keith P. Johnston, Guihua Yu, “Molecular Engineering of Hydrogels for Rapid Water Disinfection and Sustainable Solar Vapor Generation,” Advanced Materials, Vol. 33/Issue 35, 2021, Article 2102994, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202102994

Youhong Guo, Guihua Yu, “Engineering Hydrogels for Efficient Solar Desalination and Water Purification,” Accounts of Materials Research, Vol. 2/Issue 5, 2021, pp. 374–384, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/accountsmr.1c00057

Youhong Guo, Luize Scalco de Vasconcelos, Neha Manohar, Jiafeng Geng, Keith P. Johnston, Guihua Yu, “Highly Elastic Interconnected Porous Hydrogels through Self-Assembled Templating for Solar Water Purification,” Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 61/Issue 3, 2022, Article 202114074, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202114074

Panpan Zhang, Fei Zhao, Wen Shi, Hengyi Lu, Xingyi Zhou, Youhong Guo, Guihua Yu, “Super Water-Extracting Gels for Solar-Powered Volatile Organic Compounds Management in the Hydrological Cycle,” Advanced Materials, Vol. 34/Issue 12, 2022, Article 2110548, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202110548

Sectoral Feasibility of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Clean Energy Transitions

Principal Investigators: Joshua Busby, Benjamin Leibowicz

Qianru Zhu; Benjamin D. Leibowicz; Joshua W. Busby; Sarang Shidore; David E. Adelman; Sheila M. Olmstead, “Enhancing policy realism in energy system optimization models: Politically feasible decarbonization pathways for the United States,” Energy Policy, Vol. 161, 2022, Article 112754, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112754

Dustin Mulvaney, Joshua Busby, Morgan D. Bazilian, “Pandemic Disruptions in Energy and the Environment,” Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, Vol. 8/Issue 1, 2020, Article 052, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.052

Sarang Shidore, Joshua W. Busby, “Solar Federalism: What Explains the Variation in Solar Capacity Additions by India’s States?,” Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 71, 2021, Article 101815, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101815

Xue Gao, Michael R. Davidson, Joshua W. Busby, Christine Shearer, Johannes Urpelainen, “The Challenges of Coal Phaseout: Coal Plant Development and Foreign Finance in Indonesia and Vietnam,” Global Environmental Politics, Vol. 21/Issue 4, 2021, pp. 110–133, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00630

Yael R. Glazer, Darrel M. Tremaine, Jay L. Banner, Margaret Cook, Robert E. Mace, John Nielsen-Gammon, Emily Grubert, Ken Kramer, Anne M. K. Stoner, Briana M. Wyatt, Alex Mayer, Timothy Beach, Robert Correll, Michael E. Webber, “Winter Storm Uri: A Test of Texas’ Water Infrastructure and Water Resource Resilience to Extreme Winter Weather Events,” Journal of Extreme Events, Vol. 8/Issue 4, 2021, Article 2150022, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/S2345737621500226

Joshua W. Busby, Kyri Baker, Morgan D. Bazilian, Alex Q. Gilbert, Emily Grubert, Varun Rai, Joshua D. Rhodes, Sarang Shidore, Caitlin A. Smith, Michael E. Webber, “Cascading Risks: Understanding the 2021 Winter Blackout in Texas,” Energy Research & Social Science, Vol. 77, 2021, Article 102106, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102106

Nada Maamoun, Puneet Chitkara, Joonseok Yang, Gireesh Shrimali, Joshua W. Busby, Sarang Shidore, Yana Jin, Johannes Urpelainen, “Identifying Coal Plants for Early Retirement in India: A Multidimensional Analysis of Technical, Economic, and Environmental Factors,” Applied Energy, Vol. 312, 2022, Article 118644, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118644

Sahand Motalebi, Trevor Barnes, Liyang Lu, Benjamin D. Leibowicz, Taco Niet, “The Role of U.S.–Canada Electricity Trade in North American Decarbonization Pathways,” Energy Strategy Reviews, Vol. 41, 2022, Article 100827, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2022.100827

Enabling the Sustainable Energy Transition: Economic Recovery of Rare Earth Elements

Principal Investigators: Wen Song, Thomas Underwood

Juan P. Barberena Valencia, Navheen S. Murugesan and Laxminarayan L. Raja, “Modelling of an ICP torch at different flow regimes,” AIAA SCITECH 2022-0830, pp. 1–8, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-0830

Sheila Gerardo, Artur R. Davletshin, Staci L. Loewy, Wen Song, “From Ashes to Riches: Microscale Phenomena Controlling Rare Earths Recovery from Coal Fly Ash,” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 56/Issue 20, 2022, pp. 16200–16209, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c04201

Multi-Scale Design and Optimization of Next-Generation Carbon Capture Systems

Principal Investigators: Joan Brennecke, Michael Baldea

Oscar Nordness, Pratik Kelkar, Yuanyuan Lyu, Michael Baldea, Mark A. Stadtherr, Joan F. Brennecke, “Predicting thermophysical properties of dialkylimidazolium ionic liquids from sigma profiles,” Journal of Molecular Liquids, Vol. 334, 2021, pp. 1–9, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2021.116019

Kyeongjun Seo, Calvin Tsay, Thomas F. Edgar, Mark A. Stadtherr, Michael Baldea, “Economic Optimization of Carbon Capture Processes Using Ionic Liquids: Toward Flexibility in Capture Rate and Feed Composition,” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 9/Issue 13, 2021, pp. 4823–4839, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c00066

Kyeongjun Seo, Calvin Tsay, Bo Hong, Thomas F. Edgar, Mark A. Stadtherr, Michael Baldea, “Rate-Based Process Optimization and Sensitivity Analysis for Ionic-Liquid-Based Post-Combustion Carbon Capture,” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 8/Issue 27, 2020, pp. 10242–10258, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c03061

Yong Huang, Zhichao Chen, Jacob M. Crosthwaite, Sudhir N. V. K. Aki, Joan F. Brennecke, “Thermal Stability of Ionic Liquids in Nitrogen and Air Environments,” The Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, Vol. 161, 2021, Article 106560, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jct.2021.106560

Austin N. Keller, Caitlin L. Bentley, Oscar Morales-Collazo, Joan F. Brennecke, “Design and Characterization of Aprotic N-Heterocyclic Anion Ionic Liquids for Carbon Capture,” Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data, Vol. 67/Issue 2, 2022, pp. 375–384, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jced.1c00827

Kyeongjun Seo, Zhichao Chen, Thomas F. Edgar, Joan F. Brennecke, Mark A. Stadtherr, Michael Baldea, “Modeling and Optimization of Ionic Liquid-Based Carbon Capture Process Using a Thin-Film Unit,” Computers & Chemical Engineering, Vol. 155, 2021, Article 107522, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2021.107522

Kyeongjun Seo, Zhichao Chen, Thomas F. Edgar, Joan F. Brennecke, Mark A. Stadtherr, Michael Baldea, “Modeling and Optimization of Ionic-Liquid-Based Carbon Capture: Impact of Thermal Degradation Kinetics,” Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, Vol. 49, 2022, pp. 157–162, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85159-6.50026-9

Smart Decarbonization of Built Environment in Nexus of Climate Change, Growth & Technology Adoption

Principal Investigators: Juliana Felkner, Zoltan Nagy

Gauraang Dhamankar, José R. Vázquez-Canteli, Zoltan Nagy, “Benchmarking multi-agent deep reinforcement learning algorithms on a building energy demand coordination task,” Proceedings of the 1st International Workshop on Reinforcement Learning for Energy Management in Buildings and Cities, 2020, pp. 15–19, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3427773.3427870

Jose R. Vázquez-Canteli, Gregor Henze, Zoltan Nagy, “MARLISA: Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning with Iterative Sequential Action Selection for Load Shaping of Grid-Interactive Connected Buildings,” Proceedings of the 7th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation (BuildSys ’20), 2020, pp. 170–179, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3408308.3427604

Juliana M. Felkner, Benjamin Marshall, Steven M. Richter, Edward Mbata, Stephen Zigmund, Zoltan Nagy, “Linking Urban Scenarios with Energy Simulations for Dense Urban Planning under Climate Change,” Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Vol. 2042/Issue 1, 2021, Article 012054, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2042/1/012054

Zoltan Nagy, José R. Vázquez-Canteli, Sourav Dey, Gregor P. Henze, “The CityLearn Challenge 2021,” Proceedings of the 8th ACM International Conference on Systems for Energy-Efficient Buildings, Cities, and Transportation (BuildSys ’21), 2021, pp. 218–219, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3486611.3492226

Giuseppe Pinto, Marco Savino Piscitelli, José Ramón Vázquez-Canteli, Zoltán Nagy, Alfonso Capozzoli, “Coordinated Energy Management for a Cluster of Buildings through Deep Reinforcement Learning,” Energy, Vol. 229, 2021, Article 120725, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120725