Seminar - "The Future of Polygeneration: Environmental and Economic Progress" by Dr. Thomas A. Adams ll, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, McMaster Univeristy, Hamilton, ON

Thursday, February 19, 2015 3:30 pm - 3:30 pm EST (GMT -05:00)

ABSTRACT:  In order to solve the energy crisis, we need high-impact technology solutions which allow us to make and use energy products in a way that provides a similar standard of living but with a much-reduced environmental footprint. It's not easy.  Any new approaches will have to not only be proven to be less damaging to the environment, but they must be politically and socially acceptable, and they must still be profitable enough such that the industry actually wants to try them. Polygeneration is one of the most promising strategies for the energy conversion industry that can potentially meet all these criteria. In this talk, I will present the most exciting polygeneration systems of the future and the technologies that enable them, with a focus on how such systems can be a huge part of the solution.

Bio-sketch: Dr. Thomas A. Adams II is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University and a member of the McMaster Advanced Control Consortium and the McMaster Institute for Energy Studies.  He received dual bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering and computer science from Michigan State University, a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania under Prof. Warren Seider, and completed a postdoctoral appointment at MIT under Prof. Paul Barton. His research focus is on sustainable energy conversion systems, especially in the development of new systems using existing technologies, or the development of new technologies that enable new systems. His research methods include the modeling, design, control, optimization, and life-cycle-analysis of chemical processes.