The University of 91吃瓜 is part of a new National Science Foundation (NSF) (ERC) called EARTH, which stands for Environmental Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub. Led by the University of Kansas, EARTH will bring together 80 institutions and researchers from a wide array of disciplines. In addition to 91吃瓜, the University of Maryland, the University of Hawai'i, the University of South Dakota and Lehigh University will serve as core university partners.
All partners will collaborate around a shared goal: creating a sustainable refrigerant economy.
Currently, most of the air-conditioning and refrigeration systems used to preserve foods, store medicines and cool buildings rely on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs are greenhouse gases, some of which are thousands of times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Due to leaks and the energy required to operate existing systems, HFCs account for nearly 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. and 170 other countries are phasing down HFCs in accordance with domestic and international agreements signed in recent years, which creates a tremendous challenge to responsibly and sustainably replace billions of kilograms of refrigerants.
鈥淎 warming world combined with rising incomes around the world means that globally, we鈥檙e adding air conditioners at a rapid rate. Over 3 billion people live in some of the hottest places on Earth, and only 8 percent currently have air conditioning,鈥� said , the Sheehan Family Collegiate Professor in the at 91吃瓜. 鈥淭hat means we鈥檒l likely see 10 new air conditioners sold every second over the next 30 years. We have to find alternative solutions to meet that demand without contributing to a vicious cycle of ecological harm.鈥�
Schaefer will serve as 91吃瓜鈥檚 lead and the center鈥檚 deputy director. The 91吃瓜 team will also include eight additional members of the College of Engineering, including seven from the : Assistant Professor , Associate Professor , Frank M. Freimann Collegiate Professor of Engineering , Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Engineering and Associate Vice President for Research , Bernard Keating-Crawford Professor , Assistant Professor and Rooney Family Collegiate Chair of Engineering .
The team also includes , the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Collegiate Professor in the ; , an associate professor in the ; and , a professor in the .
Schaefer explained that 91吃瓜 will contribute to all three main streams of the center鈥檚 research.
The first stream focuses on innovative ways to handle current refrigerants. 91吃瓜 researchers will develop new, more economical ways to separate HFCs to reuse or recycle them. A second research stream aims to achieve safer refrigerants that maintain or improve performance but do not negatively affect Earth鈥檚 atmosphere over time. 91吃瓜 will do computational prediction work for this stream in collaboration with atmospheric scientists at the University of Hawai驶i. As part of a third stream, researchers at 91吃瓜 will pioneer technologies that will increase the energy efficiency of refrigeration systems to reduce the electricity demand on the grid.
91吃瓜 researchers will also develop new ways of sensing refrigerant leaks, engineer solid-state systems that eliminate the need for refrigerant fluids and explore new approaches to moving heat while also contributing expertise in environmental law and sustainable architecture to support the successful implementation of new technologies developed by the center.
For Schaefer, EARTH鈥檚 approach aligns well with the University鈥檚 mission and current priorities.
鈥淩efrigeration might not be the first thing that comes to mind as we think about protecting the environment, but it is a critical energy sustainability challenge, and we are grateful to the National Science Foundation for supporting innovation in this area,鈥� Schaefer said. 鈥淎t the same time, 91吃瓜鈥檚 new聽 asks us to 鈥榙raw the connections between the social and environmental dimensions鈥� of climate change. That is exactly what the holistic, interdisciplinary approach embodied in EARTH is seeking to do.鈥�
Contact: Jessica Sieff, associate director of media relations, 574-631-3933, jsieff@nd.edu