Cao, Yankai

Cao, Yankai

people

Yankai Cao

Associate Professor
yankai.cao@ubc.ca
Home department: Chemical and Biological Engineering
Website: Cao Research Group

Research Interests

  • Machine Learning
  • Large-scale Optimization
  • Energy Systems
  • Process Control

Current Research Work

My research group focuses on the design and implementation of large-scale local and global optimization algorithms to tackle problems that arise in diverse decision-making paradigms such as machine learning, stochastic optimization, and optimal control. Our algorithms combine mathematical techniques and emerging high-performance computing hardware to achieve computational scalability.

The problems that we are addressing are of unprecedented complexity and defy the state-of-the-art. For example, in our recent work, we developed a novel global optimization algorithm capable of solving k-center clustering problems (an unsupervised learning task) with up to 1 billion samples, while state-of-the-art approaches in the literature can only address several thousand samples.

We are currently using our tools to address engineering and scientific questions that arise in diverse application domains, including optimal decision trees, optimal clustering, deep-learning-based control, optimal power system planning, AI for bioprocess operation, and optimal design of zero energy buildings.

Steen, John

people

John Steen

Associate Professor, Mining Engineering
Director of the Bradshaw Research Initiative in Minerals and Mining (BRIMM)
john.steen@ubc.ca
Home department: https://mining.ubc.ca/person/john-steen/
Website: https://brimm.ubc.ca/people/john-steen/

Yazdan Panah, Fahimeh

people

Fahimeh Yazdan Panah

Project Lead – Biomass Canada
UBC Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group
fahimeh.yazdanpanah@ubc.ca

Upham, Chester

people

Chester Upham

Assistant Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
chester.upham@ubc.ca
Home department: https://chbe.ubc.ca/chester-upham/
Website: https://upham.chbe.ubc.ca/

Wetton, Brian

people

Brian Wetton

Professor, Department of Mathematics
wetton@math.ubc.ca
Home department: https://www.math.ubc.ca/user/2722/1000

Bonakdarpour, Arman

people

Arman Bonakdarpour

Adjunct Professor
arman@chbe.ubc.ca
Home department: Chemical and Biological Engineering

Research Interests

  • Electrochemical Technologies
  • Advanced Battery Materials
  • Li-ion and Na-based Batteries
  • Materials Synthesis and Characterizations
  • Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Electrolysis
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Diagnostics and Modeling

Research Projects

My research spans a broad spectrum of electrochemical science and technologies, including advanced batteries (aqueous and non-aqueous), hydrogen systems such as fuel cells, electrolysis, and hydrogen storage, as well as electrochemical approaches for water treatment and the conversion of waste into value-added chemicals. I am particularly interested in the development of novel materials and their characterization using a range of physical techniques, diagnostics, electroanalytical methods, and modeling—and more recently, in the application of AI and machine learning to battery cycle life and degradation. Recent and past collaborations with industrial and governmental partners have included Anodyne, E-One Moli Energy, Ballard Power Systems, Fraunhofer Institute, the National Research Council, Johnson Matthey, 3M, and others.

I am currently engaged in a collaborative Challenge project with the National Research Council, developing oxygen evolution catalysts and transport layers for electrolyzers. Another active area includes sodium-based batteries, with a focus on materials and cell architectures tailored for extreme environmental conditions, ranging from high temperatures to arctic cold.

Giang, Amanda

people

Amanda Giang

Assistant Professor
amanda.giang@ubc.ca
Home department: Mechanical Engineering
Website: https://www.leap-ires.org/

Research Interests

  • Her research addresses environmental policy analysis challenges through an interdisciplinary lens, with a focus on developing better modeling tools and methods for assessing and addressing pollution and environmental injustice, and understanding the links between air quality, decarbonization, and equity to inform planning decisions. This research is often action-oriented and in partnership with community groups and government environment and health authorities.

Current Research Projects

  • Enhancing the air quality and equity benefits of decarbonizing freight transport
  • Developing methods to assess and address cumulative environmental impacts for overburdened communities
  • Holistic assessment of environmental impacts in technology design

UBC Clean Energy Research Centre NEW Director

Uhl, Alexander

people

Alexander Uhl

Associate Professor, UBC Okanagan – School of Engineering
alexander.uhl@ubc.ca
Home department: https://engineering.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/alexander-r-uhl/
Website: https://lsef.ok.ubc.ca/
EME 4229, 137 Alumni Ave, Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7

Liu, Jian

people

Jian Liu

Associate Professor
jian.liu@ubc.ca
Home department: UBC Okanagan School of Engineering, Mechanical
Website: Advanced Materials for Energy Storage Lab

Research Interests

  • Advanced Nanofabrication
  • Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology
  • Energy Storage Systems
  • Next-Generation Batteries

Research Projects

  • Atomic/Molecular Layer Deposition (ALD/MLD): This research theme emphasizes on the surface chemistry and process development for inorganic, organic, and hybrid inorganic/organic thin films and particles by using advanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) and molecular layer deposition (MLD), and on the exploration of these functional nanomaterials in various emerging fields, such as energy storage and conversion (batteries, fuel cells, solar cells), gas sensors, optical etc.  ALD and MLD are very powerful techniques for controlling materials deposition with subatomic precision. During an ALD or MLD process, gas-phase precursors are sequentially exposed to the substrate, and surface reactions occurring at the substrates are self-limiting and saturated. This reaction mechanism renders ALD or MLD deposited thin films several advantages, such as precisely controlled thickness, excellent uniformity and conformity, and tunable composition, which hold great promises for many unexplored applications.
  • Surface/Interface in Energy Systems: This research theme focuses on the control and modification of surface and interface at nanoscale in energy storage and conversion systems, and on the fundamental understanding of interfacial properties and phenomena using advanced in-situ and ex-situ characterization techniques, including synchrotron radiation, XRD, HRTEM. For example, Li-ion batteries are the dominant energy storage technology that power today’s electric vehicles. One common problem in Li-ion batteries is unfavorable side reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface, which results in rapid performance degradation in Li-ion batteries and hinder their future applications for transportation. This research is to use nanoscale surface coatings on electrode materials in order to prevent these side reactions between electrode and electrolyte, thereby improving the overall performance of Li-ion batteries, especially at extreme working conditions such as high temperatures.
  • Electrode and Electrolyte Materials for Beyond Li-ion Batteries: This research theme focuses on the discovery, synthesis,  characterization, and applications of new electrode and solid-state electrolyte materials in beyond Li-ion batteries, such as Li-S, Na-ion batteries, as promising alternatives to present Li-ion chemistry for electric vehicles.
  • Na-ion batterie: The growing global market for Li-ion batteries has raised concerns about the feasibility of lithium, due to its low abundance in the Earth’s crust (0.006 wt%). The increasing demand for lithium-containing electrode materials will drive up the price of lithium precursors (such as Li2CO3), ultimately making lithium-ion technology expensive. In this regard, Na-ion batteries are promising cheaper alternative, because of the high abundance of sodium (2.4wt% on Earth), the wide availability and low cost of sodium precursors. However, the relatively large ionic radius of the Na ion (1.06Å vs. 0.76Å of Li ion) could cause larger structural distortions and higher diffusion barriers in the host materials during charge/discharge cycling. The theme of this research is this problem could be addressed by preparing nanosize electrode materials and reducing the diffusion length of Na ions.
  • 3D Microbatteries: Three-dimensional (3D) all-solid-state microbatteries have been seen as promising on-board energy storage systems for microelectronics, wearable and flexible devices, and medical implants, due to their high energy and power densities. However, fabrication of 3D microbatteries has been shown to be extremely challenging for conventional deposition techniques. In this context, ALD is being considered as the most promising technique for 3D microbatteries due to its exclusive advantages of depositing pinhole-free and uniform battery material thin films onto 3D substrates. This research theme is to apply the powerful ALD technique to develop key component materials, such as electrode and solid-state electrolytes, and eventually fabricate real 3D all-solid-state microbatteries.