1. Tulsa Institute of Alternative Energy
Daniel W. Crunkleton (Chemical Engineering)
John Henshaw (Mechanical Engineering)
Sanwu Wang (Physics)
Jagan Mahadevan (Petroleum Engineering)
Tyler Johannes (Chemical Engineering)
Research Council Meeting
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, OK
April 23, 2010

2. Institute Mission “Smarter Energy – Smarter Engineering”
“The Tulsa Institute of Alternative Energy is a multi-disciplinary collaboration of faculty, students, and administrators interesting in advancing the University of Tulsa’s research and educational footprint in the next-generation of alternative energy technologies, especially as it relates to domestically-sustainable fuels and power systems.”

3. Progress Algae Fuels $1.50 million in funding (Sapphire Energy/DOE)
DOE 2010 appropriation: $729,000
Requested appropriation: $2.4 million
4 new PhD students in Fall 2010
Successfully engineered 1-2 gene pathways in algae
NSF/EPSCoR: “Genetic Engineering of Microalgae for Pentose Utilization”, $30,000
Quantum Mechanical Modeling
$332,757 in funding (DOE, Center for Interfacial Reaction Engineering, recommended by panel, awaiting DOE’s approval)
$300,000 under review (DARPA, Atomic-Scale Control of Silicon Carbide High-Power/High-Temperature Mocroelectronics)
$711,400 submitted (NSF/MRI, Acquisition of Dense-memory Supercomputing Cluster for Interdisciplinary Research and Education)
1 M.S. student graduating in May 2010
1-2 new graduate students in Fall 2010

4. Short-Term Goals (2 yrs)
Research
Continue DOE funding for 2 additional years
Successfully engineer 3-4 gene pathways in algae
Participate in DOE EPSCoR funding
Education
2 PhD graduates in algae fuels
1 PhD graduate in Quantum mechanical modeling
Expansion of SENEA
Course Development

5. Long-Term Goals (3-5 years)
Research: Combined Institute Proposals
NSF/MRI: Major Research Instrumentation
NSF/IGERT: Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship
Education: Educational Opportunities
Internationalization
Alternative Energy/Sustainable Energy Certificate (perhaps collaborating w/ Energy Policy Institute)

6. Student Impact Algae Fuels Daichuan Chen (PhD, Chemical Engineering)
Sameneh Noor-Mohammadahi (PhD, Chemical Engineering)
Nikhil Yellesawarapu (MS, Chemical Engineering) – INSTITUTE FUNDED
Azadeh Pouimir (MS, Chemical Engineering)
5 TURC Students
Quantum Mechanical Modeling of SOFC
Ying Li (PhD, Petroleum Engineering) – INSTITUTE FUNDED
Xin Liu (MS, Physics)
2 undergraduate students (Physics, Mechanical Engineering)
Wind (SENEA Project)
Jesse French (Ph.D., 2010, Mechanical Engineering). Begins faculty appointment at LeTourneau University in Fall 2010.
3 Goldwater Scholars
1 Udall Recipient

7. Publications Algae Fuels
Noah I. Tracy, Daichuan Chen, Daniel W. Crunkleton, Geoffrey L. Price, “Hydrogenated Monoterpenes as Diesel Fuel Additives,” Fuel 88 (11) (2009),
Noah I. Tracy, Daniel W. Crunkleton, and Geoffrey L. Price, “Conversion of Squalene to Gasoline,” Under Review, Biomass & Bioenergy.
Noah I. Tracy, Daniel W. Crunkleton, Geoffrey L. Price, “Gasoline Production from Phytol,” Under Review, Energy & Fuels.
Daichuan Chen, Noah I. Tracy, Daniel W. Crunkleton, and Geoffrey L. Price, “Comparison of canola oil conversion over MFI, BEA, and FAU,” Under review, Applied Catalysis A.
Samaneh Noor, Azadeh Pourmir, and Tyler Johannes, “Assembly of Biosynthetic Pathways in Microalgae” Manuscript in preparation.
Quantum Mechanical Modeling of SOFC
Y. Li, J. Mahadevan, S. Wang, “Atomic-scale understanding of the catalytic role of the Cu surface on the dissociation of CH4,” under preparation
H.L. Dang, Y.G. Shen, S. Wang, “Spontaneous phase transition of nano-sized boron nitride thin films: a quantum size effect,” under preparation
Y. Liu, M. Halfmoon, S. Wang, “Passivation of the SiC-SiO2 interface by hydrogen and fluorine,” under preparation.
SENEA/Wind
J.J. French, C.T. Clancy, A.L. Johnston, M.A. Holland, J.M. Henshaw, “Design and fabrication of the energy generating components for the Sustainable Shepherd’s Residence in Northeastern China,” Proceedings of ASME Energy Sustainability 2009, Paper #ES
A.L. Johnson, J.J. French, J.M. Henshaw, “On the design of a vertical axis wind turbine for use in rural communities,” Proceedings of ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference 2009, Paper #DETC

8. Institute-Related Service
SENEA (Sustainable Energy for Northeast Asia)
Numerous trips to China
Projects in Haiti and Belize under preparation
Hydrogen Powered Golf Cart
Used by Pres. Upham for campus tours
HPeV Project
HPeV project
Human-powered electric vehicle built for rural regions of the world not connected to a petroleum-based energy system.  Two riders pedal, and can deploy a small electric motor when needed to carry heavy loads (on back of vehicle), climb hills, etc.

9. Summary of Board Meeting
To be held June 2010

10. Value-Added Benefits of Institute
Research Funding
$375,000 indirect costs 
Requested Congressional Appropriation: $2.4 million
$1.3 million under review to DOE/NSF/DARPA
Royalties:
International Patent Application ($20,000 per year in royalties to TU for 20 years)
WO/ : “Methods of Refining Biologically Derived Hydrocarbon Feedstocks”
Student impact
4 PhD graduates in next 2 years
2 MS graduates in next 2 years
Undergraduate research

11. QUESTIONS?