Climate tech business leaders team up to support innovators as Washington Clean Energy Testbeds Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1699559692149{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]Volha Hrechka and Dr. Dhileep Sivam will advise students, entrepreneurs, and early-stage companies at UW’s open-access climate tech lab[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1699896701656{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]November 13, 2023[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1699559885296{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]The Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, the University of Washington (UW) open-access facility for developing and testing clean energy devices and systems, welcomed Volha Hrechka and Dhileep Sivam as its next Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs). Testbeds EIRs mentor entrepreneurs and advise early-stage climate tech startup companies on team formation, product development, strategic marketing, fundraising, manufacturing strategy, and business development. The EIRs’ weekly office hours are free and open to aspiring and established climate entrepreneurs and business...
An enlightening opportunity: solar scalability
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1697481714211{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]By Brooke Fisher | Photos by Dennis Wise October 16, 2023 This article has been condensed from its original form on the UW College of Engineering website. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="20px"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1697477807960{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]At a top-tier research institution like the UW, research doesn’t take a summer break. In addition to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, many College of Engineering labs host undergraduates during the summer months, giving the students a unique, hands-on experience conducting cutting-edge engineering research alongside faculty.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1697477819113{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]The exchange is a win-win: Students can pursue ideas and interests that they’re passionate about, and in the process they sharpen their analysis, communication, design...
John Cenker, Margherita Taddei, Leo Zasada win 2023 CEI Student Awards
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1692208519060{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}"]August 16, 2023[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1691523011224{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}"]John Cenker, Margherita Taddei, and Leo Zasada received the Clean Energy Institute’s 2023 Clean Energy Student Achievement Awards at the institute’s annual end-of-year seminar on May 25.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1691523080150{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 25px !important;}"] Scientific Achievement [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1691523107176{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 25px !important;}"]The Clean Energy Scientific Achievement Award recognizes UW graduate students who have demonstrated extraordinary productivity in clean energy research and scholarship, and have contributed meaningfully to the scientific community.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1691523110808{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 25px !important;}"] John Cenker [/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="3/4"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1691523157007{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 25px !important;}"]John Cenker is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in physics and a 2021-22 CEI Graduate Fellow, advised by CEI faculty...
STEM and the Symphony
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1706054437205{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]By Nancy Joseph | Originally published on the UW College of Arts & Sciences website June 1, 2023[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1706053047062{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]As a high school student in Redmond, Washington, Meghna Shankar was part of the Green Team, her school’s environmental club. Wanting to continue environmental work as a UW student, she was excited to learn that the UW’s Clean Energy Institute (CEI) provides research opportunities for undergraduates.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1706053059785{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]“I saw that the Clean Energy Institute was pretty well funded, with a lot of professors,” recalls Shankar, who graduates this month with a double degree in physics (College of Arts & Sciences) and computer...
UW’s Clean Energy Testbeds integral to Washington’s clean energy future
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By Jackson Holtz | UW News May 25, 2023[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]A clean energy revolution is under way in Washington state, and the University of Washington is well positioned to be its epicenter.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Fueled by increasing demand for new generations of solar cells and batteries — buoyed by investments from the Biden and Inslee administrations as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions — the marketplace for these industries is being measured in the billions and trillions of dollars, experts say.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]With abundant hydroelectricity, manufacturing capacity and a supportive state government, Washington’s economic future is staked, in part, to clean energy.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]“The drivers of a modern economy are clean technologies,” said...
CEI welcomes Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellows
[vc_row][vc_column css=".vc_custom_1682031702133{border-bottom-width: 20px !important;}"][vc_column_text]April 20, 2023[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In order to support innovation to accelerate a carbon-neutral economy and to promote the equitable deployment of clean energy solutions, the University of Washington’s Clean Energy Institute (UW CEI) established the Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Its first four Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellows are: Zixiao Ma, Chris Torres, Rebecca Vincent, and Rachel Woods-Robinson.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=".vc_custom_1682031735129{border-bottom-width: 50px !important;}"][vc_column_text] Zixiao Ma [/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/3"][vc_single_image image="24561" img_size="" alignment="center" onclick="img_link_large" css=".vc_custom_1682031962794{padding-top: 20px !important;}"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Zixiao Ma is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical & Computer Engineering at Iowa State University, advised by professor Zhaoyu Wang, and expected to graduate spring 2023. His research focus is the development of machine learning-based, safety-critical controls for...
Op-Ed: A permanent Clean Energy Fund would unlock Washington’s full innovation potential
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]By Daniel Kirschen and Anjan Bose For the Spokesman-Review March 7, 2023 Washington is a national leader on responses to climate change, bolstered by a series of bold policies enacted by legislators and Gov. Jay Inslee over the past 10 years. The Clean Energy Transformation Act (2019) and Climate Commitment Act (2021) mandate full decarbonization of the state’s utilities and other economic sectors by 2045 and 2050, respectively. These are grand challenges, but the technologies and talent we need are already in development — and many are already being demonstrated and deployed thanks to the Clean Energy Fund (CEF). By making CEF a permanent part of the biennial...
An empowering education
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height="15px"][vc_column_text]By Lyra Fontaine | Photos by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="15px"][mkd_section_title title="Ph.D. candidate Malia Steward shares her journey to researching renewable energy and how she’s working to improve solar cell efficiency." title_size="small" title_color="" title_text_align="" margin_bottom="" width=""][vc_empty_space height="15px"][vc_column_text]ME Ph.D. candidate Malia Steward’s work focuses on solar energy – the fastest-growing source of new electricity in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Photovoltaic or solar cells are made of semiconductor material that absorbs the energy of sunlight and converts it to electrical power. Steward finds the process of building solar cells layer-by-layer using microfabrication equipment, then using tools to measure the cells’ performance,...
Preparing tomorrow’s clean energy leaders
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][mkd_section_title title="A multi-disciplinary course is training students across the scales of clean energy — from materials and devices to storage and power grid integration." title_size="small" title_color="" title_text_align="" margin_bottom="" width=""][vc_empty_space height="16px"][vc_column_text]December 12, 2022 By Chelsea Yates | Photos by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]“I’ve grown up witnessing climate change first-hand — more severe wildfires, draught, hurricanes, and the list keeps growing unfortunately,” says materials science and engineering (MSE) graduate student Arun Sundar. “We need to understand the broader effects of climate change, and we need to take action.” For him, this has meant a course of study in energy storage and emerging energy technologies. Sundar decided...
Daniel Kirschen named editor in chief of IEEE Transactions on Energy Markets, Policy and Regulation
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659482302298{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]July 28, 2022[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659482290831{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659482479494{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]UW ECE Professor Daniel Kirschen was recently named editor in chief of IEEE Transactions on Energy Markets, Policy and Regulation. This new publication, launching July 2022, is a peer-reviewed journal containing articles that cover complex topics and issues at the intersection of power systems engineering, energy policy and market regulation. The journal will promote a move toward renewable sources of energy, and it will seek to drive investment in resilient, sustainable energy systems that consider all stakeholders’ needs.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659482320319{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]Kirschen, who is an IEEE Fellow and the Donald W. and...
CEI announces 2022 Clean Energy Student Achievement Awardees
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659029257332{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]Shua Sanchez receives Scientific Achievement Award for novel x-ray technique for study of quantum and energy materials; Miguel González Montijo, Ricardo Rivera-Maldonado share Outreach & Service Award for outstanding contributions to CEI K-12 education programs[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659029247373{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]July 28, 2022[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659029487113{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]Miguel González Montijo, Ricardo Rivera-Maldonado, and Dr. Shua Sanchez received the Clean Energy Institute’s 2022 Clean Energy Student Achievement Awards at the institute’s annual end-of-year seminar on May 26.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1659029499647{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]The Clean Energy Scientific Achievement Award recognizes UW graduate students who have demonstrated extraordinary productivity in clean energy research and scholarship, and have contributed meaningfully to the scientific...
Exploring new materials through collaboration
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1655159667535{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]Jim De Yoreo’s career full of insights about materials will continue at the Energy Sciences Center[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1655154121223{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]June 13, 2022 | By Beth Mundy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1655159679514{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]Scientists who study materials can be divided into three categories. “You have people who make things, people who make things do things, and people who try to understand why things do what they do,” said Jim De Yoreo, a Battelle fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). He places himself into the third category.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1655159687342{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]Through advanced microscopy techniques, De Yoreo has spent his career trying to understand and predict the...