University of Texas at Arlington
ER-18: Sustainability Research Incentives

The Center for Renewable Energy Science and Technology (CREST) coordinates research, development, and technology transfer in the area of renewable energy at the University of Texas at Arlington. Energy has been listed as humanity’s number one problem for the next 50 years by several agencies. The U. S. Department of Energy projects (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo) that the world’s total energy consumption will rise by 54% between 2001 and 2025. This projected increase may be an underestimation due to the rapid economic development in heavily populated countries like India and China. To meet our future energy needs, we must develop alternative energy sources because (a) the fossil fuel reserve will not be sufficient to meet the demand beyond 2050; and (b) an over-reliance on fossil fuels (many of them are located in politically unstable regions in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America) has both environmental and political implications as highlighted in recent events. Recognizing the importance of this critical problem, many individual faculty members and students on campus have been active on various aspects of energy research and development, and these activities are supported by various funding agencies. However, CREST has the overarching goal of bringing together these dispersed activities under one organizational umbrella. It coordinates the research and development efforts of various faculty members on campus and lead to focused multidisciplinary research teams pursuing a common theme within the energy framework. It also provides a centralized facility with state-of-the-art instrumentation to enable cutting-edge energy research and development. Examples of major activities in energy research and development currently under the CREST umbrella on campus include: • Methods for hydrogen generation using renewable energy sources (e.g., sunlight and water) • Materials for energy conversion and storage (e.g., carbon nanotubes, permanent magnets, advanced photocatalysts) • Solar photovoltaic devices (e.g. organic, composite, inorganic, quantum-well, and nanoparticle solar cells) • Magnetic energy storage devices (magnetocaloric effect) • Arc reformation of methane and pulsed detonation energy source • Integrated resource planning and distributed generation schemes • Novel analytical methods for characterization of energy materials and devices • Wind, hydro, and tidal sources • Energy system and power grid integration • Fuel cells • Biomass and solar thermal energy conversion The Center draws faculty teams from major research programs in Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and the NanoFab Center. It also acts as a recruiting vehicle for new faculty members, thereby adding value to its current activities and bringing a critical mass of researchers, instrumentation, and infrastructure together in a cooperative enterprise. Collaborations extend beyond campus via the close ties already existing between the CREST faculty and institutions such as Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, NM, National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, and SPRING partners (Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology, including UT Austin, UT Dallas, UT Brownsville, UT Pan American, and Rice University). The CREST faculty work with the Arlington Technology Incubator for technology transfer and commercialization. CREST serves as a center of excellence in energy research and development in the State of Texas. The center offers students an opportunity to learn cutting edge technology as it applied to renewable energy and Sustainability. The technologies and intellectual properties that will accrue from this major initiative will promote local and regional economic development by spawning spin-off companies and technology licensing. It will serve to catalyze the evolution of UTA into a major comprehensive research university.

The Center for Renewable Energy Science and Technology (CREST) coordinates research, development, and technology transfer in the area of renewable energy at the University of Texas at Arlington. Energy has been listed as humanity’s number one problem for the next 50 years by several agencies. The U. S. Department of Energy projects (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo) that the world’s total energy consumption will rise by 54% between 2001 and 2025. This projected increase may be an underestimation due to the rapid economic development in heavily populated countries like India and China. To meet our future energy needs, we must develop alternative energy sources because (a) the fossil fuel reserve will not be sufficient to meet the demand beyond 2050; and (b) an over-reliance on fossil fuels (many of them are located in politically unstable regions in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America) has both environmental and political implications as highlighted in recent events. Recognizing the importance of this critical problem, many individual faculty members and students on campus have been active on various aspects of energy research and development, and these activities are supported by various funding agencies. However, CREST has the overarching goal of bringing together these dispersed activities under one organizational umbrella. It coordinates the research and development efforts of various faculty members on campus and lead to focused multidisciplinary research teams pursuing a common theme within the energy framework. It also provides a centralized facility with state-of-the-art instrumentation to enable cutting-edge energy research and development. Examples of major activities in energy research and development currently under the CREST umbrella on campus include: • Methods for hydrogen generation using renewable energy sources (e.g., sunlight and water) • Materials for energy conversion and storage (e.g., carbon nanotubes, permanent magnets, advanced photocatalysts) • Solar photovoltaic devices (e.g. organic, composite, inorganic, quantum-well, and nanoparticle solar cells) • Magnetic energy storage devices (magnetocaloric effect) • Arc reformation of methane and pulsed detonation energy source • Integrated resource planning and distributed generation schemes • Novel analytical methods for characterization of energy materials and devices • Wind, hydro, and tidal sources • Energy system and power grid integration • Fuel cells • Biomass and solar thermal energy conversion The Center draws faculty teams from major research programs in Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and the NanoFab Center. It also acts as a recruiting vehicle for new faculty members, thereby adding value to its current activities and bringing a critical mass of researchers, instrumentation, and infrastructure together in a cooperative enterprise. Collaborations extend beyond campus via the close ties already existing between the CREST faculty and institutions such as Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque, NM, National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, and SPRING partners (Strategic Partnership for Research in Nanotechnology, including UT Austin, UT Dallas, UT Brownsville, UT Pan American, and Rice University). The CREST faculty work with the Arlington Technology Incubator for technology transfer and commercialization. CREST serves as a center of excellence in energy research and development in the State of Texas. The technologies and intellectual properties that will accrue from this major initiative will promote local and regional economic development by spawning spin-off companies and technology licensing. It will serve to catalyze the evolution of UTA into a major comprehensive research university.