PhD students for energy research

General information on the PhD program in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering (SESE):
The Ph.D. program in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering within the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering at Texas A&M University-Kingsville is a multidisciplinary program that integrates various fields of Engineering and Science. Since this is an interdisciplinary program, prospective students will be enrolled in the SESE Ph.D. program regardless of their background. The terminal degree you’ll get from this Ph.D. program is “Ph.D. in Sustainable Energy Systems Engineering”.

Tasks/Projects:
Currently, there are various projects available in the areas of energy storage materials and renewable energy technologies. Most of the projects require excellent experimental skills.

Li-ion batteries: This project is focused on developing advanced binder materials for novel alloy anodes (i.e., Si and Sn) and cathodes with intrinsically low electrical conductivity (i.e., LiFePO4). Additionally, in this project, we are trying to better understand the degradation mechanisms in Li-ion batteries by developing new characterization techniques, both in-situ and ex-situ techniques and/or by utilizing existing techniques to elucidate the chemical and mechanical degradation mechanisms. Students interested in this project should be very comfortable working in the lab. Day-to-day tasks will include synthesizing (wet chemistry methods, solid state synthesis) new materials, characterizing and testing them. You’ll be using glove-box, fume hood, different types of furnaces/ovens, mass flow controllers, battery cyclers, potentiostat/galvanostat, gas sorption instrument etc.

Solar adsorption cooling: This project has both experimental and theoretical/numerical parts. In the experimental part, you’ll be developing advanced porous materials that can adsorb significant amount of water/alcohol to improve the performance of adsorption cooling. Successful PhD student should have similar background as in Li-ion battery project (see above). In the theoretical/numerical part, you’ll be working on the system level using TRNSYS or similar software. You’ll develop an adsorption chiller model and integrate it into TRNSYS. You’ll evaluate/simulate various system designs/parameters to improve solar fraction. Strong background in thermal-fluid sciences (thermodynamics, heat transfer) as well as good programming skills are must for this project.

There are also projects available in hydrogen storage and carbon capture & storage based on developing advanced materials. Students interested in this area should contact Dr. Demirocak (dervis.demirocak@tamuk.edu) for further information.

Qualifications:
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master’s level degree from an ABET accredited (or similar) university. Students with background in Mechanical, Materials, Chemical, and Electrical Engineering or similar are encouraged to apply. The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. Familiarity with renewable energy and energy storage technologies such as thesis, publications or industry experience in these areas is a big plus.

Scholarships:
Scholarships are available for the qualified candidates.