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Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) Laboratory Cool. Fuel.

System design guidelines for user facilities

Initial floor plan sketches

We’re just over 1 month into refurbishing our new lab space in suites 108 and 113 of the Thermal Fluids Research Building (TFRB). We’re following the 5-S philosophy from Lean Manufacturing: 1) Sort, 2) Systemize, 3) Shine, 4) Standardize, and 5) Sustain. Recent posts have shown we’re nearing the end of phase 1 and are starting to look towards the design of our working systems within the space. What we decide matters. So what design rules can we follow to … » More …

Thermal Fluids Research Building (TFRB) Refurbishment

With the mass outpouring of support for the development and design of a hydrogen refueling station to submit to the DOE’s H2 refuel competition, we needed an effective design and work space large enough to support everyone. Luckily, we have around 5,000 square feet of space in the Thermal Fluids Research Building (TFRB) set aside for this project. Unfortunately, this space previously contained a wood shop and spare storage facilities, leaving much to be desired from a usability perspective. Several student volunteers have been coming in every day to help fix this project, and we have some bold plans to make the space a … » More …

How universities evolved tree-like hierarchies

Consider this cherry tree in the WSU Arboretum:

WSU Arboretum Cherry Blossoms

While a great view for enjoying Ferdinand’s ice cream, this tree can also teach about the design and evolution of complex systems. Why does the tree branch the way it does? Why does it branch in similar ways as these?

Branching flow systems

 

The image on the left is a river delta, the image on the … » More …

What is education for?

What is education for? –is a question too seldom asked and posed by Seth Godin in this fantastic TED-x talk and discussed in his open-access manifesto on education.

Here’s my opinion: education is for fostering the traits needed by humanity. As such, what education is for must continue to evolve with humanity. Humanity’s needs in the 18th century are very different from the needs of today. Humanity’s needs in the 1950’s, when Bloom originally posited his taxonomy of learning, are more similar yet still different–and continue towards obsolescence–from the needs of today. So why are Bloom’s values still the gold standard of engineering academia?

… » More …

Seattle is waking up to hydrogen’s future in the Northwest

The Seattle Times recently posted a user testimony of the Hyundai Tucson hydrogen fuel cell vehicle:

http://blog.nwautos.com/2015/05/hydrogen_headway_roadblocks_to_fuel-cell_cars_are_vanishing.html#.VV7e4zIPTuk.mailto

Sadly, the closest fueling station to Seattle is in San Francisco. Let’s take this moment and think about Seattle’s commute and the zero-emission options.

Seattle's Electrified buses

Downtown Seattle is extensively electrified for trolley buses. Aside from the mountain of copper it took to run the wires, that’s great for the environment, not so great for tourism or the pocket book. Electrification of just Seattle … » More …

Spread the word!

Last Friday I sent the following message to all students, faculty, and staff in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture at WSU:

It is my pleasure to announce the formation of WSU’s H2Refuel team. The team is competing for a Department of Energy $1 million prize competition to develop an in-home or community based hydrogen vehicle refueling system.

We will leverage our prior win in the 2014 Hydrogen Student Design Competition to develop a drop-in hydrogen refueling station, 2nd place in the 2012 Hydrogen Student Design Challenge to generate heat, hydrogen, and power for the local … » More …

HYPER lab partners with Ultramet to win NASA 2015 SBIR Phase 1 award

NASA announced the winners of the 2015 SBIR Phase 1 competition. We partnered with Matthew Wright of Ultramet, an advanced material solutions company based in Pacoima CA, to win the Cryogenic Fluid Management for In-Space Transportation sub-topic with a proposal titled, “Parahydrogen-Orthohydrogen Catalytic Conversion for Cryogenic Propellant Passive Heat Shielding.”  As stated in the citation abstract, “The Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) laboratory at Washington State University (WSU) recently demonstrated a Cryocatalysis Hydrogen Experiment Facility (CHEF) to characterize parahydrogen-orthohydrogen catalysts for passive heat shielding.” This work builds off of Ron Bliesner’s graduate work during his Master’s Thesis that eventually built CHEF.

A hydrogen economy for Jefferson County Washington

Jefferson County Washington is embracing their sustainable energy future. I recently gave a presentation at their Clean Energy luncheon in Port Townsend and was both proud and amazed by the level of engagement combined with a sense of urgency from the community. Video from the full talk starts at 5:00 here: http://porttownsendmedia.com//energy/Leachman.php A major part of humanities sustainable energy future will rely on local county and community efforts to work together for mutual benefit. Good luck Jefferson County!

UK report quantifies need for cryogenics research

A report by the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom was just released that emphasizes and quantifies the benefit of cryogenics to the UK economy. Here are a few statistics from the full report:

-Total direct and indirect annual contributions to UK economy is $492 million.

-Between $2.4-$5 billion generated in next 10 years.

To place this into context, the US economy is 2.5 times the size of the UK’s. If it scales, that could mean $1.5 billion/year generated in the US from a field that produces less than a handful of graduate engineers/year across the US. NASA and other … » More …

My opinion on great AND informative poster design

I was a first year Ph.D. student when I created my first original research poster. In engineering we’re always surrounded by these posters attempting to communicate our research as they are akin to wallpaper in the common hallways. That’s why I spent way too much time on it. I was so frustrated with how typical and common the legalistic design meme of these posters was that I wanted to break the mold. I wanted to create a visual that would stop people in their tracks outside the lab and stand alone, i.e. would tell the story without … » More …