University of Nevada Las Vegas Center for Energy Research workers awarded for green energy idea, hydrogen research efforts
Professor Yitung Chen shows the certificate won by he and his former students for their research.
Photo by Mike Kelly.
Just prior to a series of UNLV conferences on energy, university researchers have placed their work in the national spotlight.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers awarded mechanical engineering and Center for Energy Research professor Yitung Chen, postdoctoral scholar Taide Tan and master’s graduate Zhuoqi Chen a “best paper” award for their work in the field of renewable energy.
“It’s very nice to be recognized,” Yitung Chen said.
The research, which was conducted as part of UNLV’s larger Solar Hydrogen Generation Research project, was done to further the exploration of clean hydrogen production and the efficiency of a particle receiver.
“[The paper was] a renewable energy project which aimed to design an efficient and feasible solid particle solar receiver for the solar-driven, water-splitting, thermo-chemical…cycles to produce hydrogen,” Tan said.
UNLV researchers worked in cooperation with Sandia National Laboratories in Arizona to create a scale model of the particle receiver for experimentation.
Yitung Chen said the ultimate goal of this type of research is to create an instrument that would allow a less expensive, zero-pollution method of hydrogen production.
At the third ASME conference on July 22, Yitung Chen picked up a certificate and a $500 monetary prize given by the Advanced Energy Systems Division of ASME.
“This is a very important conference,” Tan said. “There are many scientists and researchers from all around the world [who attend].”
The paper was originally presented at the second International ASME Conference on Energy Sustainability in 2008 alongside more than 250 other research articles on a variety of energy topics. Yitung Chen said he hopes the award will help bring attention to the research being done at UNLV and around the Las Vegas Valley.
“Las Vegas is the most important solar energy resource in the area,” he said.
He added that he would like this type of research brought to the national attention to stop cuts to hydrogen research funding.
President Barack Obama’s administration attempted to zero out hydrogen funding after worries over the high cost of hydrogen cars production and lack of sufficient fuel stations.
“If the government thinks this is important,” Yitung Cheng said, “we’ll keep working on it.”
If not, he believes researchers will move into other, better-funded areas.
ON THE WEB:
Solar Hydrogen Generation Research:
shgr.unlv.edu/v2/
