Auburn researchers hard at work pioneering energy-related advancements of future

Auburn University faculty and researchers are doing great work — hard work — in the energy sector, pioneering and advancing intelligent solutions and innovations that will shape the landscape of tomorrow.

From plasma fusion research aimed at harnessing and improving energy sources, to engineering exploits designed to reduce hazards, streamline processes and enhance efficiency, Auburn’s talented researchers are making strides in the energy space. Whether it is maximizing power production, improving the industry’s safety practices or solving problems involving renewable energy, Auburn is on a path of progress in the future of energy.

Some of the top-notch multidisciplinary work taking place across campus can be found in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, where teams of researchers are tackling problems ranging from LED light heat reduction to the cooling of advanced electronics. In the College of Sciences and Mathematics, Auburn physicists are focused on several projects designed to do everything from turn the potential of fusion energy into a reality, to improve the long-term capabilities for renewable, sustainable thermal energy storage.

Jianjun “JJ” Dong, a professor the Department of Physics, is part of a motivated team of researchers working on the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Energy Earthshots Initiative,” which is on the frontier of the nation’s transition to clean energy and dedicated to accelerating breakthroughs of more abundant, affordable and reliable clean energy solutions in the next decade. Dong and Auburn graduate student David Crawford, are collaborating with a National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) multi-institute research team and the DOE’s Degradation Reactions in Electrothermal Energy Storage (DEGREES) Energy Earthshot Research Center to explore options and innovations for the long duration storage of renewable sustainable thermal energy.

“We are providing fundamental physics that enables the technology to make changes to renewable energy technologies,” Dong told the COSAM Communications Department earlier this year. “We will be conducting modeling to look at material structures at atomic scale that could provide substantial insights on the degradation mechanisms of materials properties for long-term energy storage.”

Several Auburn physics professors are balancing a host of fusion energy research projects, from David Maurer and David Ennis on their Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH) experiment that investigates how instabilities affect maintaining the plasma along with hot plasma exhaust issues, to working on a billion-dollar-class Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) collaboration experiment in Germany that studies hydrogen’s behavior at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. Stuart Loch and Ennis also are part of a San Diego-based experimental collaboration (DIII-D) where they examine plasma’s interaction with solid material surfaces and erosion in this harsh environment, while Luca Guazzotto is studying fusion theory and conducting research on the equilibrium and stability of plasmas with strong flow in magnetic confinement devices.

These hi-tech experiments are producing crucial data and helping to expand the industry’s knowledge of fusion energy’s potential as a possible practical source of electricity for power grids. The hope is some day to harness the monumental potential of fusion energy and convert it into a form that is usable and deliverable on a global scale.

“These are extremely exciting times in plasma physics and fusion energy development,” Maurer said. “A new, burgeoning fusion industry is planning for net energy production in the next decade. I look forward to fusion energy with all of the benefits it brings on the grid in my lifetime.”

Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Mehmet Arik — who earlier this year was named an National Academy of Inventors Fellow and whose research team owns more than 120 patents — is working on microfluidics cooling for advanced electronics servers to help conserve power and improve efficiency. His team also is working on ways to build energy efficiency in LED lights, which are increasingly popular in everyday uses around the globe.

“Microfluidics can improve heat transfer over four times compared to the current baseline technology,” said Arik, whose patents have a broad range of applications in medical systems, energy systems, aviation systems and photonics technologies. “This means we can significantly reduce energy consumption in servers, electronics and Electric vehicles (EVs).”